Concerning Dragons
by Chromatophobe
Summary: The war with Gaea is over and peace has been restored - or so the campers would like to believe. While Gaea herself has been defeated, many of those loyal to her remain and threaten the fragile peace, and so once more the campers are called upon by the Olympian gods to slay the fiercest dragon to live and redeem a god fallen from grace.
1. A Cryptic Warning

When Solace had insisted he owed him time in the infirmary, Nico had shrugged it off and dismissed it as little more than a joke. Now, as he was pushed rather firmly down onto a white bed tucked neatly into the corner of a bustling, brightly lit and immaculate room, it occurred to him that he had underestimated the healer's resolve. As the blond fussed over a metal tray next to the bed, Nico allowed his eyes to wander around the room, taking in each sight and smell. Nico fought to sit up and get off the bed, but Solace simply pushed him back down again and raised a needle.

"I'll sedate you if you don't stay down, Di Angelo." Will said, staring Nico down in warning. Nico held his gaze for a moment before he sensed the resolve in Solace's words and averted his eyes, remaining still. "Good, you're learning." The boy pulled a strap from the tray next to the bed and wrapped it tightly around Nico's left arm, tying it at the end. Nico's arm throbbed numbly as the blood circulation was restricted and watched as Will pressed down on his skin, trying to locate a vein. It didn't take long – what with how thin Nico was and the contrast between the colours of his veins and his ghostly-white skin – and Will turned around again, picking up a different needle. Nico broke his gaze away from the sharp point of the hypodermic needle and threw another glance around the room, noticing several pairs of eyes averting themselves from his direction.

"Can't this be done elsewhere?" Nico asked, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the infirmary. "Death and the Underworld don't exactly fit in with health and sunshine." As if to emphasise his point, Nico gestured with his free arm to the clothes hanging loosely off his thin frame and to his pale white skin. In response, Will rolled his eyes and raised the needle.

"Here's an idea," the boy said, driving the needle slowly into Nico's arm, eliciting a hiss of pain that was quickly stifled by the son of Hades. "How about you don't let what people perceive your dad to be define you?" The boy began drawing blood from Nico's arm, which throbbed angrily at the intrusion. "I mean, you don't see me skinning satyrs because they can play instruments better than me, do you? Don't get me wrong," Will threw his hands up defensively. "The thought has crossed my mind, especially when they decide to start playing in the middle of the night and I'm trying to sleep, but that's irrelevant."

Will began removing the needle slowly after he had filled several containers of blood samples. As the needle left Nico's arm, the blond pressed a cotton bud against the open wound and muttered melodically in Ancient Greek – Nico recognised it to be a hymn to Apollo. When he pulled the cotton bud away, Nico noticed that the wound had closed and he felt no pain when Will removed the constriction belt. Solace turned his back to Nico again, handing the samples to a younger girl and muttered instructions to her – Nico caught only snatches of what sounded like "thyroid" and "Kayla."

For a few moments, Will's eyes lingered on Nico and they trailed up and down the boy's body, inspecting every inch of visible skin with a critical eye. Before Nico could question Will's actions, the girl called Kayla had returned and handed a clipboard to Will before she disappeared to a different part of the infirmary again. The blond scanned through the notes quickly, glancing up at Nico every now and then before he put the clipboard down and reached around for a clean needle which Nico eyed nervously. Will noticed and smirked.

"For someone who hangs with the dead more than the living, you get awful twitchy around needles, Di Angelo. Just relax or it'll hurt more." Even by forcing himself to relax, it still hurt and Nico still flinched when the needle penetrated the skin on his right arm. Rather than drawing blood, Will left the needle in his vein and secured it in place with surgical tape before he attached a translucent tube connected to a bag to the end of it and began feeding clear liquid through. It burnt at first and Nico tensed, but the pain subsided immediately when the son of Apollo traced the path of Nico's veins with his palm and muttered another prayer to Apollo. Nico sat up after a moment.

"And exactly why are you pumping me full of chemicals?" He asked, pointing to the drip inserted into his arm. Will slapped his hand away and sat down in a chair adjacent to Nico's bed, picking up and glancing through the clipboard notes again.

"Well, let's see." Will adopted a sarcastic tone. "It can't be anything to do with the fact you look like those skeletons you raise or that you're whiter than Christmas in Alaska even after exposure to serious sunlight. I'm _definitely_ just doing it because I enjoy stabbing people with needles." He rolled his eyes and flipped the paper over on the clipboard, drawing something with a pencil on the second page. He flipped the clipboard to face Nico and gestured at the graph he had drawn.

"See this?" Will questioned, pointing at a darkly-drawn upwards curve. "This is what you'd expect to see if you looked at the average guy your age and measured their vitamin levels. This?" He pointed to a significantly smaller lightly-drawn curve underneath it. "That's your levels. There's obviously something wrong, so I'm finding out what so I can solve it, like a good doctor does. Now," The blond stood up and adjusted the white lab coat he wore. "Be a good patient and lay down and get some rest. I'll be back later, I've just got to check on Mellie and Chuck and see how they're doing after the birth."

Before Nico could speak, the boy had bustled off to a different part of the infirmary and his head had started swimming. His vision blurred and he groggily wondered if the drip was feeding anaesthetic into his system and not just vitamins. He fought to keep his eyes open, wanting to remain awake and alert, but the anaesthetic beat him into submission and his eyes closed.

* * *

His eyes drifted groggily open what seemed like seconds later, though his sluggish brain realised it had more than likely been hours since he fell asleep. It took him a moment to register what had woken him from the anaesthetic-induced sleep, but it slowly dawned on him when he recognised the smooth voice of Percy bickering with another voice he realised belonged to Will Solace. The blond glanced at Nico fleetingly before he returned his attention to Percy.

"Damn it, Jackson, you woke him up!" Will rubbed his temple gently with one hand as if warding off a migraine and pointed at Percy threateningly with a clipboard in his other hand. "You know the rules – no interfering with patients! You've been in here enough times to know that visiting hours ended an hour ago." Percy sheepishly ran a hand through his hair, smiling gently at Will though he eyed the clipboard nervously.

"Sorry, Solace, I've just got some things I need to talk to Nico about – urgent stuff, y'know?" Percy ventured. Evidently Will either didn't know or didn't classify it as urgent enough, but Percy noticed the boy looked ready to argue and cut him off. "I'll only be a few minutes, I'll be gone before you get back, I promise." Will stared at Percy for a further few seconds before he furrowed his brows in irritation and threw his arms up in surrender.

"Fine!" He pointed the clipboard at Percy, jabbing it into his chest like a spear. "If you're not gone when I get back I'll get Drew to slip an aphrodisiac in your food."

The colour in Percy's face drained and he looked nervous. "You wouldn't." Will raised an eyebrow and continued to stare until Percy, defeated, added: "Okay, yes you would. I'll be gone, relax Solace." Will savoured the look of fear on Percy's face before he strode off. Percy adjusted his shirt and sighed in relief before he turned to look at Nico. He took in the drip in Nico's arm and the groggy expression on his face and smirked.

"What's Solace got you in for then, Nico?" Percy asked, shifting awkwardly in his seat. Nico averted his eyes from Percy and fixed them on a point on the ceiling.

"Look, Percy, you're here to talk about… _that_ clearly, and I'd rather not." Nico watched as Solace – visible only due to his hair which seemed brighter than his siblings' – bustled around the infirmary, tending to various other patients, occasionally throwing a glance his way. Each time, Nico averted his eyes just in time. "I'm barely okay with it, the last thing I need is someone telling me they're not comfortable with it." Percy shifted in his seat which drew Nico's attention and wasn't shocked to see a surprised expression on the older half-blood's face.

"I'm okay with it. Really," Percy added when Nico raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Why wouldn't I be fine with it?"

Nico shrugged. "You were pretty surprised when I told you. I've never seen you struggle for words before."

"You'd be pretty surprised too if the person you thought hated you told you they used to be crushing on you." Percy countered. When Nico looked confused, he continued. "Yeah, I thought you hated me. After the quest to rescue Artemis and all and then being cold and hostile to me before you set off with the Athena Parthenos and Reyna."

Nico sighed and slumped back against the pillows, mirroring Solace's earlier actions by rubbing his temples to ward off a headache. He looked up in time to spot the son of Apollo throwing a concerned glance his way, looking ready to walk over and get rid of Percy. Nico waved him away and turned to look back at Percy.

"I wanted to hate you, I really did. I couldn't bring myself to do it, though."

"The labyrinth – I remember. You could've turned on me and Annabeth at any point but you chose not to. And then that business with Hades—"

"—I needed information on my moth—"

"—I didn't understand back then," The older half-blood cut Nico off, holding up a hand to silence him. "But Annabeth knocked some sense into me afterwards. Yeah," He caught the confused expression on Nico's face before it vanished. "I told her after Luke died, I wanted her opinion. She told me I'd been an idiot and should apologise but Hera got to me before I could. And now all the hostility makes sense – I guess I understand a little. Just one question."

Nico looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"When did you, like, realise you liked me in that way?" Percy hastily ventured, as if the topic were taboo and he was crossing some sort of line.

"I didn't know then but it was when you saved me and Bianca from the Manticore, Dr. Thorn, at that military school." Percy looked somewhat surprised at Nico's immediate reply, as if he had expecting Nico to be unable to give an exact answer. "I guess they're right when they say meeting heroes is dangerous. So," Now Nico's tone was hesitant and he shifted awkwardly on the bed. "This doesn't change anything?"

Percy shook his head and laughed. "Obviously not. It's just the Greek blood in you, Neeks. Didn't you pay attention to Annabeth whenever she would start ranting about the old stories? The Greeks weren't exactly the most judgemental of people, if you catch my drift. I mean, just look at Zeus and Ganymede or Apollo and Hyacinth."

Nico shook his head in bemusement, a wry smile on his face. "And some people think you're stupid. Unbelievable." He looked up and met Percy's eyes for the first time since he woke up. "Friends then?"

Percy nodded. "Friends."

* * *

Nico spent the remainder of the day and the majority of the next watching the Apollo kids tending to various patients that came and went in between brief naps. He found it interesting and engaging to watch how each son or daughter of Apollo would tend to a wound – some would hum as they guided their hands gently over wounds, others would sing a soft melody while others would chant a hymn. Nico noticed that one thing always remained the same: there was always a soft yellow glow around the wound for a brief moment that seemed to sink into the skin and knit any cut closed.

Aside from brief snatches of conversation with Will, Nico had only one other visitor: the small girl he recognised to be Lou Ellen, the daughter of Hecate he had fought beside to take down Octavian's onagers. She had left a suspicious-looking pink orb on his bedside cabinet and left with a wink. He remembered what had happened to Octavian's legionnaires and he didn't fancy the idea of spending the rest of his days as a piglet, so Nico wrapped it up in a cloth and stowed it hastily in the bag he had brought with him, ensuring it was securely tucked underneath his change of clothes. After that, Will had come over to tell him he was free to leave to get some fresh air, but if he wasn't back within an hour he'd send a search party.

It was blindingly bright outside, even to Nico who had spent the last day and a half in an immaculate white room – it was like Apollo was trying to outdo himself, which he probably was, Nico thought. He looked around camp, exchanging nods with passing campers, and spotted a solitary girl at the campfire, prodding the flames with a branch. Nico felt strangely drawn to her, so he decided to go and sit with her.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, glancing at the girl's face with a friendly smile. The girl looked somewhat familiar: her features were sweet and graceful in an unpretentious way and her warm brown eyes instilled a sense of peace and ease in Nico. With a start, the girl's identity clicked into his mind and he bowed his head to her. "Lady Hestia."

"Nico," Hestia looked up at him and smiled, patting the seat next to her. "A pleasure to see you again, please, sit." Nico nodded and sat next to her, watching as she continued to prod the coals of the fire with her branch. She paused and looked up at him, examining his features. "You're looking healthier than when I last saw you."

"I've got a good doctor to thank for that, my lady." Nico returned her gentle smile and she resumed prodding the coals of the fire to keep it alive and strong. The flames flickered happily. "How're things in Olympus after the war?" The flames in the fire died down slightly at the mention of Olympus and the smile on Hestia's face faltered slightly.

"Not as good as they are going here, evidently. Everything has been resolved, but my brother is still insisting on punishing Apollo for his part in awakening Gaea." Nico wanted to comment on how it was unfair as Apollo couldn't control prophecies but he bit his tongue. If the old tales had taught him anything, it was that openly criticising Zeus was a dangerous idea – suicidal, even. Hestia smiled wryly and prodded the fire again.

"You're quite right, it isn't fair." She said, as if reading his mind – which she probably was doing, Nico realised. "But Artemis has managed to convince Zeus to give my nephew another chance by appealing to his fatherly nature." Nico suppressed a smirk. If Thalia was anything to go by, Zeus was anything but fatherly. A solemn expression crossed Hestia's face and the fires died down slightly. "A quest is coming, Nico, and it's going to be a dangerous one. We have no idea how it'll turn out, as Apollo's powers of prophecy have been blocked, and so have Rachel Elizabeth Dare's."

Nico frowned. "A quest so soon after defeating Gaea? For who?" Hestia shifted on her seat and prodded the fire in the silence, bringing the flames back to a healthy vigour rather than a subdued flickering.

"I'm not sure on the details just yet. My brother is still finalising it all. You'll find out soon though, I'm sure." Hestia turned her head, drawn by the sound of approaching people. Nico too turned his head to look and recognised Kayla approaching and mentally cursed – Solace really had sent a search party. "Stay strong, Nico. You're going to need your strength for the events to come."

Nico bowed his head and pondered Hestia's words. "Thank you for talking with me, Lady Hestia."

"The pleasure was mine." She replied, prodding the fire a final time. When Nico straightened up, she was gone and in her place stood Kayla with a hand on her hip and a raised eyebrow.

"You've been gone too long, Di Angelo. Will said an hour, not an hour and a half. Who was that girl you were talking to?" Kayla asked.

"An old friend of mine." He replied, allowing Kayla to take the lead back to the Apollo cabin. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as if he were being watched so he threw a final glance back at the fire, only to find it was deserted. He thought over what Hestia had said to him in silence, barely registering the scolding he was receiving from Solace for being late back.


	2. A Suicidal Venture

Time passed quickly in the infirmary – quicker, perhaps, than Nico would have preferred. Despite having only been placed under Will Solace's care for a short period of three days, Nico had already noticed major improvements. The scars on his arm that he got from Lycaon were fading after they had been treated by the blond – Nico could still see the boy's look of sheer repulsion when the dressings were removed to reveal the vicious cuts. He also noticed that his skin seemed to glow with light, particularly after he came into contact with the healer. He hadn't told Will about the cuts on his chest from Lycaon, though. He had even put on weight which was an achievement in itself. Now he didn't look like he'd be blown away by the smallest gust of wind, as Will seemed keen to remind him.

"Your weight is normalising at last. Or it's on the beginning of normalisation at the very least." Will straightened up after examining the measurements on the scales. He held out a tape measure and wrapped it around Nico's waist, glancing quickly at the measurement. Nico promptly blushed crimson. "Your waist is still abnormally small but hey," the healer gestured with his hands towards Nico. "You don't look like a living skeleton anymore. Congrats, di Angelo, I'm satisfied with your care. For now at least."

Nico cocked an eyebrow. "For now?" He took a moment to stretch and looked at his arms, noticing with some amount of happiness that they no longer looked ready to dissolve into darkness. Solace turned away from Nico with a small smile on his face, scribbling away on a clipboard. He turned back to face Nico after a few moments.

"What, you thought that was it? Dad would skin me if I let a patient go without regular check-ups. Consider me your personal Doctor, di Angelo. For now," The boy held a small lollipop in front of Nico, teasing him for a moment before he handed it to him. Nico raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Consider yourself discharged and fit for Demigod duty. Just don't try and summon an army of the undead any time soon and you'll be A-Okay. You're banned from shadow travelling until further notice, though. Too strenuous an activity for your health."

"Thanks Solace," Nico smiled genuinely and Will's face softened from his stern doctor look. "For putting up with me three days and getting me back on my feet."

Will placed a hand on Nico's shoulder and returned the smile "What're doctors for, di Angelo? Now get going, no doubt you're keen to go get beaten up to get another lollipop out of us."

Nico grinned again and raised a hand in farewell before he left the infirmary and the son of Apollo behind for the second time in three days.

* * *

The first thing he did was change into fresh clothes. He'd taken several changes of clothes with him, but it had been such a hassle to pull the screens around his bed to change privately that he had waited for as long as he could bear before changing. That was the only advantage to his Cabin, Nico thought as he glanced around the dark and gloomy interior: privacy was ensured. He changed quickly and ensured his sword was strapped to his side as usual. He had been changed for little under two minutes before there was a knock at his door. He opened it to be greeted by the sight of Jason Grace, who raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey Nico," Jason's eyes flickered over Nico, taking in everything from the faded scars on his arms to the healthier-looking pallor of his skin to his face, which thankfully looked less emaciated than usual. "I heard that Apollo medic discharged you and figured you could use some fresh air." Nico blinked in surprise but quickly smiled.

"Sounds great." Jason stepped back and led the way. Nico closed the door to his cabin behind him without looking back and fell into step behind Jason."

"So…" Jason began, glancing at Nico out of the corner of his eye. "That Apollo kid seems pretty keen on you, huh?" Nico tilted his head.

"Who, Solace?" Nico laughed. The sound was still so strange to Jason, it still left him surprised. "He was the one who checked I was okay when I first came to camp. Guess he feels somewhat responsible for me, Grace."

"You made quite the impression on Reyna, too." Jason watched as a small smile spread across Nico's face.

"Traveling with a huge statue on your back across the world does that to you, Grace. Especially when you're getting chased by demented lycanthropes." Nico's hand travelled lazily up his arm, tracing the outline of the scars he had received from Lycaon. Jason watched with mild interest.

"Did you manage to kill him?" Nico looked up at him questioningly. "King Lycaon, that is."

"I imagine so." Again, Nico laughed and again, Jason was surprised by the melodic sound. "Not many can survive being stabbed in the heart by a silver dagger."

They had reached the top of one of the tall hills overlooking the Camp now and they sat in the shade of a tall oak tree, looking down at the campers going about their lives. Nico watched as one – probably a Hermes kid – got chased by another – probably an Ares kid – and waved something madly over their head. He snorted in amusement, realising it was the Stoll brothers when the boy passed the item to an identically-dressed boy and they continued running away, passing the object occasionally between each other. Jason followed Nico's gaze and grinned too before he pulled out an apple and offered it to Nico. Nico shook his head with a smile and Jason shrugged, taking a bite out of it. They sat in companionable silence for a while. Nico seemed content to watch the camp. Jason followed his wandering gaze for a while, frowning when he noticed Nico glancing in Percy and Annabeth's direction – who were currently sitting atop a smaller hill – every few seconds. He took another bite from the apple, contemplating how to tackle the topic. He settled for whatever amount of subtlety and tact he could muster and dove in.

"How're things, y'know… with Percy and Annabeth?" Jason raised an eyebrow, watching as Nico's gaze shot away from the couple quicker than a child caught with their hand in the sweet jar. Evidently, he lacked subtlety and tact. He filled the brief silence by taking another bite from his apple. Nico frowned before he laid down on the grass and looked at the treetop above them.

"Fine, I guess. It still hurts a bit but I'm happy for them." He sounded convinced. Jason took a bite of his apple, nearly choking when the other boy jumped up suddenly. "Let's have a spar." Jason swallowed the apple chunk, massaged his now-sore throat and cocked an eyebrow.

"A spar? After you just got out of the infirmary?" He shook his head in disbelief. He dug a small hole and dropped the apple remains in it, covering it up with the dirt quickly. "It's like you want that medic to murder me." Jason stood up and unsheathed his _gladius_ whilst Nico similarly unsheathed his stygian iron sword. A small shiver ran down Jason's spine when he looked at the blade, but he readied his guard anyway. "Alright. On your go."

* * *

Nico was fast, Jason quickly discovered, and he was a lot faster than he had expected him to be. Nico's first attack – a lunge to his leg – had been so quick he had almost missed it and had barely managed to knock the blade aside with his _gladius._ Jason quickly learned after that to cover any openings in his defence, receiving a small cut on his free hand when he failed to do so. He felt his reflexes kicking in, his heartbeat increasing, blood pumping through his ears, as his body reacted almost autonomously and automatically. His arm seemed to lift itself and the blade clenched in his hand to parry Nico's descending blade and seemed to lunge forward in a counterattack. Nico's eyes widened at the speed and he jumped back, barely avoiding the blade, knocking it aside with his own blade's forte.

The battle got increasingly fiercer, the two constantly battling to outdo each other and fighting to land more hits on the other. Just when Jason would pick up on a pattern in Nico's movements, the younger demigod would shift his attack pattern suddenly and throw him off balance and, despite his years of practice, he was finding it difficult to distract the younger boy during combat. He relished the challenge, though, and he knew the feeling was mutual.

Eventually, Jason knocked Nico's blade aside and tackled him, sending them both tumbling to the ground, their blades discarded, heaving and panting for air. They lay there for a moment, fighting to get air back in their system before Jason rolled over and lay next to Nico. Jason realised, with some sadness, that it had been a while since he had fought for fun, rather than purely for survival or for defence. Nico seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Think I won that one, Grace," Nico laughed as he looked up at the sky. "That last move was cheating."

"All's fair in love and war, di Angelo." Jason combed a hand through his hair, brushing stray strands out of his face. "We'll call it a truce." Nico hummed in agreement and they fell back into comfortable silence, watching the clouds drift past. The sky was as blue as a brilliant, sparkling apatite stone and the few scattered clouds were as bright as diamonds. Nico was the one to break the silence, pointing up at the sky with one hand.

"Things are a lot calmer after Gaea." He paused to look across at Jason, then turned his head back to the sky. "Hopefully that'll be the last Great Prophecy in our lifetime." Jason laughed.

"You're telling me. I think my hair would go grey if I had to fight another war." Jason said, a grin spreading across his face when Nico snorted in amusement at the idea.

"Didn't Hazel disguise you as an old man at one point?" Now Jason was laughing, though the memories of his aching back and slow reflexes still plagued him.

"Never again, Neeks." Jason, too, looked up at the sky and watched as the clouds drifted lazily overhead. "I think it's a good sign, y'know? The sky being this calm. I think we'd know if the Gods were angry or moody. The sky's usually the first warning we get." Nico couldn't help but disagree, thinking back to Hestia's cryptic warning. _'You're going to need your strength for the events to come.'_ Nicowas definitely sure he didn't like the sound of that, but he didn't voice his concerns to Jason. It'd be unfair to spoil his good mood after their spar.

Instead, he settled for the companionable silence with Jason as they continued watching the clouds drift past from their place in the shade. They eventually walked down the hill and walked through camp, stopping now and then to talk to their friends. They even managed to confirm that it had, indeed, been Connor and Travis being chased by Clarisse, who had had her helmet stolen when she turned her back for a moment. Nico felt sorry for the brothers, wondering what state Clarisse had left them in and whether they'd find any camper remains hidden in the forest during the next capture the flag game. He was brought out of his wondering when he almost walked into Annabeth, only being stopped when Jason grabbed him. He muttered a quick thanks and looked at Annabeth.

"Finally, I've been looking for you everywhere." She began. There was something in her eyes and in her expression that made Nico uneasy, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. "Chiron asked me to spread the word, there's a camp meeting later." Jason and Nico exchanged a look. Jason remembered the last time a camp meeting had been called – right before he had been given the prophecy to free Hera. Annabeth seemed to know exactly what they were thinking. "I know. Hopefully it isn't another prophecy, but you can never be too careful. I'll see you guys there then."

They said their goodbyes and continued on the way. Nico found himself mulling over what Hestia had told him for the second time that day. If Jason noticed, he didn't say anything but instead left Nico to his thoughts. They parted at the Hades cabin where Jason hugged him before heading off in a random direction. Nico entered his cabin and spent the remainder of his free time pacing, wondering about the meeting Chiron was calling that night.

* * *

The mood in camp was anything but joyful. Even Nico himself felt the anxiety that plagued the campers and himself for the rest of the day, covering them like a suffocating blanket, snuffing out any tiny flames of hopeful optimism they possessed. Only Lou Ellen seemed to believe the meeting was a good omen rather than a bad one. Nico didn't have the heart to share what Hestia had told him with her. His anxiety soon drove him to the campfire earlier than the others, where he sat in the shade of a small tree to the side of the main group of benches, half-hidden in the shadows, and waited.

He didn't wait long. Soon the other campers arrived in trickles of twos and threes. Percy and Annabeth arrived together – Nico averted his eyes – with Jason following shortly after. It wasn't long before the camp was fully assembled around the fire with Nico sitting off to the side. He noticed Jason sweeping the crowd and frowning, but he paid it no mind and remained where he sat. Silence fell when Chiron stepped forward in front of the flickering flames of the campfire and coughed loudly to clear his throat. Nico noticed Dionysus standing in the background with his arms crossed. He also noticed that the God did not seem very happy, which troubled him.

"A quest has been announced." The mood among the campers seemed to diminish even further and many campers – the remaining participants of the Prophecy of the Seven chief among them – looked mutinous with anger. Chiron continued, undeterred. "To keep it simple, we are blind and vulnerable, as are the Gods, though they loathe to admit it." The fire flickered wildly for a moment before it settled down. Chiron exchanged a look with Dionysus who was stood behind him. "Lord Zeus has decreed that a child of Apollo is to venture forth and slay the serpent Python." Nico's eyes – and the eyes of every other camper – flickered to where the Apollo cabin sat. Fear was etched on each of their faces. "Python has occupied the Ruins of Delphi and is cutting off our ability to receive prophecies. It's essential Python is slain for life to return to normal. This is a blind quest without a prophecy, the outcome is unknown. The Apollo cabin," Chiron was now looking directly at them, too. "Must decide among themselves who is to lead this quest and they will then decide whether they go alone or take others with them."

Silence fell when Chiron ceased speaking, but not for long. Will Solace stood up and strode outward, his face blank and expression unreadable. He reached Chiron and stopped before him.

"Well, it's obvious then, isn't it?" He said, his tone also unreadable and betraying no emotion. "I'm the Cabin Counsellor, so the duty falls to me." He stopped for a moment, as if waiting for one of his siblings to object or contradict him, but was met with silence. He looked once more at Chiron who nodded at him. Nico's eyes flickered over to Percy and Jason in turn, and he noticed their willingness to volunteer themselves, though he also detected reluctance, like they considered it their unwilling duty to help as the most powerful half-bloods present. Will turned away from Chiron and ignored Jason and Percy entirely, instead directing his gaze to the group of Ares kids, each of whom carried their own weapons as if they had been expecting this. They glared defiantly back at Will. "Clarisse," Will spoke calmly and clearly, his tone casually inquisitive as if he were asking about the weather. "You've got experience in battles like this. Will you join me?"

Clarisse narrowed her eyes and looked Will up and down, sizing him up as if he were an appealing target dummy. The predatory look in her eyes gave the impression that she was deciding which limb to chop off first. She inhaled deeply, as if bored by the meeting and rolled her eyes like she had been waiting for him to ask. She nodded once.

"Fine, Solace. I'll join you, sure, but I'm keeping the thing's head afterwards. Can't expect Jackson to do everything anyway." Clarisse muttered. A few of her siblings snorted but fell silent when she glared at them. She stalked forward from the mass of Ares children and stood at Will's side, her arms crossed and a glare on her face. Will's eyes searched through the mass of campers, many of whom seemed to consciously avoid his gaze or looked at the floor when his eyes met theirs. Nico's own eyes flickered to Percy and Jason again who both looked ready to stand up and volunteer themselves for the quest, then to Dionysus, who looked at the branch above Nico's shoulder and moved his head a fraction of an inch up and then down, and then Nico's eyes darted to the fire, drawn there by the light of the flames. As he watched the flames dance in the evening air, he felt a strange feeling of confidence course through him, flooding his system and bringing him to his feet. The silence that filled the camp then mattered little to him as he firmly put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the many eyes following him, until he stood face to face with Will Solace, looking the slightly taller boy dead in the eye.

"Count me in, Solace." Nico heard himself say and extended his hand. Will stared at him for a moment before he firmly grasped his hand and shook it. Even Chiron looked surprised by Nico's forwardness. Jason looked furious. Percy looked like he'd been hit over the head with a hammer whilst Annabeth next to him looked on with a smile on her face and nodded to him encouragingly, showing her approval.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Di Angelo."


	3. The Journey Begins

The camp meeting had dispersed quickly after Nico had volunteered and filled the final spot in the quest. Jason had objected at first, saying that Nico needed to rest and recover more but he had quickly fallen silent at the look Nico directed at him. Chiron had broken the tense silence as Nico and Jason stared each other down.

"There is no cause for concern, Jason." Chiron said, arching an eyebrow at Jason's outburst. "Will is a competent medic and will be able to tend to any medical needs that arise during the quest." Jason's expression softened slightly and his shoulders relaxed.

"I wasn't implying he wouldn't be able to." Jason said, somewhat defensively. "I just don't think Hazel would appreciate Nico throwing himself recklessly into a quest so soon after the war."

"Last I checked, I was capable of making my own decisions, Grace." Nico replied coldly, narrowing his eyes at Jason. He would've thought the older half-blood would've realised Nico was capable of defending himself, if the bruises on his body from their spar earlier were any indication of skill and ability. "Besides, someone has to help out and it wouldn't be fair for you or Percy to have to do it. We've got a healer as the leader – what could go wrong?"

"Yeah," Will interjected, throwing an arm over Nico's shoulder jokingly. Nico quickly shrugged him off. "Di Angelo'll be fine with me. It's her you've gotta watch out for." Will jerked his thumb over his shoulder to Clarisse who muttered something probably profane back to the son of Apollo. "See? She's charming. Monsters just _love_ getting to know her."

Jason threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine. Obviously I can't persuade you not to go so I'll drop it. Just be careful, Nico."

Nico's gaze and tone softened. "I will, don't worry about me." He replied, watching as Jason off to one of the fields where Piper stood waiting for him. Nico turned to face Will and the others, failing to notice the blond averting his eyes quickly. Chiron took control of the conversation once more.

"You'll be leaving in the morning when you're ready, so pack whatever supplies you intend on taking and get some rest. It's a long journey to Delphi, and it's more than dangerous. Gaea has been defeated, yes, but there are still monsters out there that want revenge. Now go get some rest." He dismissed them with a gesture of his hand, an unreadable expression on his face. Nico waited for a moment, watching as Clarisse headed back to her raucous cabin before watching Will curiously as he headed towards the Hephaestus cabin rather than the Apollo cabin. He shook his head before he too headed back to his own cabin, opening the door to find Annabeth sitting on his bed, clearly waiting for him. Scattered around her were books in various states of disrepair. Nico quirked an eyebrow: usually Annabeth's books were in mint condition, not tattered, torn and clearly mishandled.

"Last I checked, knocking was a modern day thing and not just a thirties habit that died out." Nico said before stooping down next to his bed and pulling out a backpack from underneath the bed. He glanced around his room, wondering what to take with him.

"And last I checked, half-bloods tried to live as long as they could rather than volunteering for suicide missions." Nico dismissed her comment, choosing to begin stowing items in his backpack rather than reply. Annabeth, undeterred, continued. "I got these books from the bookcase in my cabin. They've all got conflicted interpretations of Python: some say it's male, some say it's female. Some myths say Python is a dragon and others say drakon. The only one who really has any idea would be Rachel, but she isn't here, and Lord Apollo is out of the question because he's still detained in Olympus." Nico paused in his actions and looked at Annabeth, disbelief etched on his face that she went to such efforts to research this quest.

"And what do the myths say about its strength?" He asked, dreading the answer. He distracted himself from his sense of dread by continuing to pack his backpack.

"That's the bad news." Annabeth consulted one of the books, a leather bound one in relatively good condition, barring the long, suspicious tear down the front of the cover. "Each myth says Python was appointed by Gaea to guard the Oracle of Delphi in the ancient times, which means it has some level of power at the very least. Some myths even say Apollo and Artemis's Titaness mother Leto was hunted by Python throughout her pregnancy and was nearly killed several times by it."

Nico winced. "Great. We've got to kill a dragon that likes eating Titans. Any more good news?" He said, tossing various articles of clothing into the backpack now.

"I'm not sure… not much is said about Python after it's slain by Apollo. You can expect it to have heavily armoured scales though, so killing it will be even harder than normal monsters." Annabeth took the backpack out of Nico's hands and began rifling through it, removing various things and adding new ones in their place.

"That's reassuring." Nico interposed sarcastically, picking up one of the books and flipping through it casually.

"On the bright side, you've got a child of Apollo leading the quest so you won't have to fight Python at close range, you can just kill it from a safe distance and you've got Clarisse – she's killed a drakon before so she should be able to hold Python off long enough for Will to kill it." Annabeth took the book from Nico and stowed it in the backpack, zipping it shut. "There. You're packed. Food, clothing and general supplies." An awkward silence briefly filled the cabin in which Nico awkwardly shuffled his feet.

"So—" Nico began, only for Annabeth to cut him off.

"Be careful, Nico." Nico met her eyes for the first time and was surprised to see a worried look on her face. "Python nearly killed Leto and nearly killed Apollo when he fought it. If you're not careful, Python'll kill you."

"I appreciate your concern, but I wish people would stop worrying about me. I'll be fine." Annabeth smiled and stood up, moving towards the cabin door.

"You're right. You brought the Athena Parthenos back, I'm sure you'll be able to get back safely. Good luck, Nico." He raised his hand in farewell and she was gone, closing the door behind her. He slumped back on his bed and closed his eyes, replaying the memories of the day in his head, very much doubting he would get sleep that night.

* * *

He didn't know when he'd fell asleep or how, what with the prospect of killing a dragon that had almost killed an Olympian god and a Titaness loomed over him, but he had, only to be woken up by Jason shaking him awake, telling him it was morning and time to go. As Nico groggily changed – after ensuring that Jason had turned around – the reality of what lay ahead of him seemed to sink in somewhat and he realised that the odds were that they were going to their deaths. He shook the thought of, refusing to let it get to him, and finished tying his laces. Jason stood waiting by the door with Nico's backpack in hand and they left in companionable silence.

They both came to a stop when they turned around the corner and saw what was unmistakably Will ahead of them, standing next to what looked like a heavily modified chariot with a black Pegasus – Nico recognised after a moment to be Percy's Pegasus, Blackjack – harnessed to it. Nico approached and raised an eyebrow, gesturing at the chariot with one hand whilst he accepted his backpack from Jason with the other.

"What's this then, Solace?" He asked, shrugging the backpack onto his shoulder. The blond merely smiled and tapped the chariot fondly.

"This is the Apollo Cabin chariot, now un-destroyed and bigger than ever." Will walked around the chariot, inspecting each part of it intensely and throwing the occasional smug glance over at Clarisse, gesturing from her to the chariot. Clarisse muttered something that sounded to Nico like a suggestion as to where Will could shove the chariot in response. Will's smirk widened. "Jake Mason owed me a favour and I called it in last night, told them that keeping busy helps fight off grief and voila – we've got our transportation to Greece. Blackjack here was kind enough to volunteer – or at least that's what Percy said – to be our chaperone." Nico took a moment to digest this, as did Jason. Blackjack pawed the ground with one of his hooves.

"I thought it was pretty clear how we were getting there – I'd shadow travel us." Will stopped in his tracks and glared at Nico. The transition from carefree to serious was so quick that if Nico had blinked he was sure he'd have missed it.

"Doctor's orders, Di Angelo. You're not shadow travelling us anywhere. You're still too weak after lugging around Madam Wisdom to travel all the way to Athens." Will said it so matter-of-factly, but Nico could sense the warning behind the words so he let the matter drop, albeit reluctantly, knowing that Will could very easily curse him into speaking rhyming couplets if he so wished. Nico raised his free hand in surrender before he heaved his backpack off of his shoulder and dropped it on the chariot. He frowned as he took in the sight of Clarisse's own bags (which had bulges that looked suspiciously like weapons), Will's bags and his own.

"And how do you expect Blackjack to be able to fly the three of us, the chariot and our supplies all the way to the ruins of Delphi from Camp Half-Blood?" Nico asked.

"Well, for one, we're not going straight to Delphi." Will countered. "Blackjack will be dropping us in Athens and waiting there for us. Annabeth was kind enough to provide a map from Athens to Delphi. It's too dangerous for Blackjack to go to Delphi itself, what with Python's tendency to eat things that fly or walk – well, to eat anything really." Will moved around the chariot, adjusting various components of it. "And for two, we're going around the long way so Blackjack doesn't kill himself trying to make it across the ocean in one go." Nico sighed, but he let the matter rest. Clearly Will had thought the route out rather than getting sleep last night.

"In other words," Clarisse piped up from her spot leaning on the edge of the chariot. "He's going ridiculously out of his way so he has more time to brag about his chariot."

"You know me so well, La Rue. How can I resist when my chariot's bigger than yours?" Will winked and Clarisse glared, hissing what sounded like "it's the only thing that's bigger" under her breath. "But relax, Di Angelo," Will continued, ignoring Clarisse. "I've thought it through. We'll get there with plenty of time to spare, not that we're in a rush to go kill this fat lizard or anything."

"I'd like to kill the thing before I go grey watching you two flirt badly." Clarisse uttered, drawing a laugh from Jason as Will turned red and Nico glared. Will glanced down at the watch on his wrist.

"She's got a point – about getting a move on that is, and definitely not the flirting." When Clarisse looked unconvinced, he glared and added: "Definitely not. Anyways, we should be going." By now, their voices had drawn the attention of a few campers who had come to see them off, Percy and Annabeth among them with Chiron closest to the front. Nico moved to step on to the chariot, but Jason pulled him back and into a hug which he returned after a moment.

"Stay safe, Nico." Jason said simply before he fell behind Chiron and watched as Nico clambered onto the chariot. Chiron made a gesture as if he were warding evil away.

"Good luck on your quest Will, Clarisse and Nico." Chiron said. Annabeth stepped forward and stood next to him.

"You know the plan, Solace. If we don't hear from you in 7 days, we're sending a rescue party."

Will nodded. "Chill, Chase. I know the plan. We'll contact you as soon as we get there." He handed the reins to Clarisse, who looked absolutely delighted, and with a small tug she spurred Blackjack into flight. Nico raised his hand in farewell and lowered it only when the camp had been reduced to a barely visible speck on the ground.

* * *

They had been flying for just over an hour, Nico in contemplative silence, content to listen to Will and Clarisse bicker among themselves, when Will offered to take the reins to give Clarisse a break.

"Gods no," she said, heaving the reins out of Will's reach, causing Blackjack to violently swerve to the side, dragging the chariot with him. "I've been wanting to fly this thing since we stole it. No way are you getting it off me this easily!"

Will laughed but accepted her response. He stepped back away from the reins and instead slid down the side of the chariot to sit next to Nico whilst Clarisse corrected their course, consulting a compass the Hephaestus cabin had installed on the chariot dashboard and a map next to it of their planned route with navigational instructions. Nico looked up, catching Will looking at him with a curious expression.

"What?" He asked, fidgeting under the other boy's gaze.

"So why'd you volunteer, Di Angelo?" Will said, avoiding the question and averting his eyes for a moment before returning to the inquisitive expression. "Couldn't you stand the thought of being separated from your doctor for more than five minutes, or was it to see the look of surprise on Percy Jackson's face when you volunteered? It was priceless, by the way."

Nico smiled, remembering the dumbfounded expression that had crossed Percy's face – he had half-risen to a standing position before Nico cut him off by volunteering first.

"Guess it just felt right to volunteer," He said, keeping the conversation with Hestia and the approval from Dionysus to himself. "Percy's expression was just an added bonus." Will's expression shifted to a victorious, if not cocky, smirk.

"I knew it was my charms and natural appeal that made you volunteer!" Clarisse gagged – a sound not unlike that of a choking seal – from the front of the chariot and the two of them laughed.

"More like divine intervention." Nico added in an undertone that was not missed by Will. Before he could respond, a splash caught their attention and the two turned as one to look at a sea creature that looked like a hybrid of a horse and a fish swimming alongside them, easily keeping pace with the flying chariot that was hovering just inches above the water. They sat in silence for a few moments, content to watch the Hippocampus swim.

"I miss Camp already." Will broke the silence, shifting next to Nico. "And my cabin." He turned his head to look at Nico, as if expecting some reply.

"I miss Jason," Nico ventured. "Even though he can be a pain and annoying." Nico turned to look at Will in the brief silence, noticing the blond raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"And this relationship between you and Jason is purely platonic?" Will questioned. Clarisse dared a glance over her shoulder and shrieked with laughter at the expression on Nico's face. Blackjack and the chariot veered sharply to the left as the reins slipped from her hands in her brief moment of laughter, nearly crashing into the Hippocampus which brayed loudly before splashing them with water and submerging.

"What about you, Clarisse?" Nico asked as the daughter of Ares corrected their course after nearly crushing a Hippocampus. "Do you miss anyone yet?"

Clarisse was silent for a moment, then: "Not really." She said simply. "It's great to get away from my cabin for a bit. It saves me a migraine. There's always an argument going on, it doesn't matter what time of day."

Nico silently wondered if Clarisse was the main cause of those arguments. Then he shook his head, realising that she probably was.

* * *

Nico was the first to spot the distant patch of land that was slowly coming closer to them. A quick map consultation told him they were approaching Puerto Rico, the first of their many short journeys on the route to Athens, and Nico suspected the growing bulk was the city of San Juan. He recalled the last time he had been there with some wariness – he had been switching between fighting and running for his life alongside Reyna and Coach Hedge with such rapidity that most of the events seemed blurred. He resolved to send an Iris message to the two once they landed to see how they were doing. Another problem presented itself, however.

"How're we going to get through Puerto Rico without going around? We'll be seen." He said, furrowing his brows in thought as he inspected the approaching land mass.

"The Mist'll hide us." Clarisse replied and she released the reins with one hand and waved the free hand through the air. Though nothing seemed to change, Nico could feel something about them was different and was impressed that Clarisse had mastered some level of Mist manipulation. Even Will looked impressed as he clapped Clarisse on the back and complimented her on her work.

They landed shortly on the outskirts of a small town on the very edge of Puerto Rico. Nico had to hand it to Clarisse – they had flown over San Juan and other cities without any incident, so her trick with the Mist had clearly worked. He made a note to learn how to manipulate the Mist at a later date, thinking of how useful it would be in the future. Blackjack had curled up on the ground after being unharnessed by Will and had quite quickly dozed off. Clarisse was busy pacing around the small enclosure they had landed in, searching through her various bags while Will was busy inspecting their supplies and pouring out water for Blackjack. Nico headed to the edge of the enclosure, intend on finding some way of creating a rainbow to send a message and stopped only to tell the others he was going for a walk.

He wandered aimlessly on a small path on a fruitless search for a puddle of water or anything he could use. After a few minutes, he found one and had just taken out a drachma when something heavy and fast slammed into his side. Nico swore, furious he had allowed something to sneak up on him and moved to unsheathe his sword. The thing – he looked up and recognised it to be an Empousa, if the celestial bronze leg was any indication – was quicker and let out a high pitched shriek that forced Nico to drop his sword before it advanced on him, kicking his sword far out of his reach. The she-demon raised a hand as it prepared to strike him, grinning, when an arrow thudded into the ground between her feet, startling her into dropping Nico. Another arrow embedded itself in the bark of a tree trunk just inches from the Empousa's head and she stepped back in shock.

Will emerged from behind a tree, looking at the two missed arrows with an expression of frustration. The Empousa looked him from head to toe before combing a hand through her hair.

"A son of Apollo? Well you're much nicer than a son of Hades." Her tone was playful, flirtatiously so. She combed her hand through her hair again, twirling one of the locks of blonde hair around her fingers. "Are you here to be my sunshine for the day?" Will cocked an arrow and took aim.

"Sorry lady, I don't swing that way." He grinned and released the string. The Empousa hissed in anger but was too slow in avoiding the arrow, and it struck her cleanly between the eyes. Will let out a triumphant yell, jumping and punching the air and whooping, stopping only to avoid Clarisse who had charged out of the bushes at that moment, screaming a war cry that sent shivers down Nico's back with a spear held menacingly high above her head. She stopped only when she spotted the pile of dust on the floor with an arrow lodged firmly in it and a look of frustration crossed her face.

"Jeez, Solace. Even if you don't swing that way you could've left one for me." As if to satisfy her bloodlust, she drove the spear into the centre of the pile of dust, dispersing it with a flick of her wrist. Will blushed but ignored her, retrieving Nico's sword and handing it back to him, taking great care not to touch the black blade. He knelt next to Nico, procuring a strip of bandage from seemingly nowhere and wrapping it tightly around the gash on Nico's arm where he had broken his fall, being relentlessly teased by Clarisse while he ministered to Nico's wound.

"It didn't take you that long bandaging that Lou Ellen girl, Solace." Even her tone was relentlessly teasing. "I wonder why Di Angelo gets special treatment." Will blushed again, the red tinge on his face clashing with the blond of his hair, making him look almost sunburnt for a moment, and stuttered back a slow "Shut it, La Rue." Clarisse merely cackled in response while Will pulled Nico to his feet and led the way back to the enclosure where Blackjack now stood, fully awake and pawing the ground nervously.

"We'll set off now and make camp when we get to our next stop point." Will said, taking charge of the reins without complaint from Clarisse. They settled quickly whilst Blackjack pawed the ground with increasing intensity, sniffing loudly every few seconds. Will tugged the reins and Blackjack – now glad to be moving again – took off immediately. Nico glanced down at the rapidly shrinking enclosure, only to see they had narrowly avoided being swarmed by a group of what looked like Empousai.

"Where is our next stop, exactly?" Nico questioned, returning his gaze to the front of the chariot. Will glanced over his shoulder and smiled, the sun behind his head amplified the colour of his hair and eyes to a startling intensity.

"Well, we're cutting through Venezuela and making a few breaks, but our next proper stop is Brazil, Di Angelo. We're going right to the edge of it, too, and then we're making camp." With that, Will spurred Blackjack on again and returned the direction of his gaze to ahead of the chariot. Nico watched as Puerto Rico shrank away from them and wondered just how intricate and complicated this route Will had planned truly was.


	4. A Gift from A Goddess

Thanks to my delightful friend and beta, Mewsugarpudd. Check out her stories, "Learning about Leo" and "The Skull and The Flame."

* * *

As it turned out, the route was as complicated as Nico had feared. When they had veered sharply to the right in mid-air, Nico had bolted up and steadied himself by gripping a rail on the side of the chariot. Blackjack whinnied sheepishly while Nico nudged Will out of the way to look at the map, tracing their path with his index finger, and what he saw did not amuse him.

"You're joking." Nico said in disbelief. "You're taking us through all of these places and yet you still insist that it's faster than shadow travelling?"

"Faster, no." Will countered, nudging Nico out of the way and reclaiming his position at the front of the chariot. "Better for your health, yes. Now sit down Di Angelo, or I'll get Clarisse to tie you to the side of the chariot." Nico reluctantly gave in and returned to his seat opposite Clarisse who snorted in amusement. Nico threw her a look and watched her sharpening her spear for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. He wondered why she kept doing that and why she looked so determined each time she did so.

"What's it like being a daughter of Ares, Clarisse?" He asked. Clarisse paused for a moment before she continued sharpening the point of her spear with renewed vigour.

"What's it like being a son of Hades?" Clarisse countered, drawing sparks from the tip of her spear with her whetstone. Nico palmed the pommel of his sword and rolled his eyes.

"Between the death and the darkness? You can't get much better, believe me." Nico replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Clarisse snorted in amusement, dragging the whetstone up the edge of her spear's blade, sharpening it.

"Fair enough," She began. "It's a pain being an Ares kid sometimes, mainly because boys are preferred over girls, like usual." She drew a particularly large spark from the tip of her spear with her whetstone as she said this. "I guess it's easier for you. You've just got that Roman sister of yours to put up with."

"That's true, but you don't have to worry about being turned into a flower every time you visit your dad." Nico replied, blushing vividly when Clarisse cackled in delight, no doubt picturing Nico as some sort of dainty dandelion or sunflower. He joined in with hers and Will's laughter after a moment. Clarisse paused in sharpening her spear and examined Nico, a faint level of surprise registering on her features. She could scarcely believe that the laughing boy in front of her was the same boy that had raised an army of the dead and confronted Kronos face-to-face when so many other campers had turned and fled or waited for Percy to leap in first. Her eyes flickered to Nico's exposed arm and recognised the faint, but wide, white markings there as scars. She placed her spear on the floor and gestured to the scars with her free hand, tossing the whetstone up and catching it in her other hand.

"How'd you get those scars then, Di Angelo?" She asked. Nico glanced at the scars once before he grabbed his shirt sleeve and lowered it to cover the white markings. Nico took a moment to ensure they were completely covered before he turned to look back at Clarisse and answered her.

"An overgrown mutt called Lycaon gave them to me when I was transporting the Athena Parthenos." Clarisse raised an eyebrow at the mention of Lycaon. She had heard some of the stories passed between the campers after the statue had been returned, how the Roman Praetor and Nico had fought the King of the Lycanthropes. "He got as good as he gave, specifically a silver knife in the heart." Clarisse blinked in surprise. She hadn't heard that part from her siblings.

"I'd heard Lycaon was hard to kill, but to think you actually managed it…" She whistled appreciatively before she picked up her spear again and resumed her sharpening of the point. "Not bad for a son of Hades."

Nico rolled his eyes dismissively. "Lycaon was nothing compared to the Drakon you killed in the Battle of Manhattan." He gave Clarisse an appraising look, taking in each detail of her features before he proceeded. "I heard you charged at it without any armour and just your spear and you killed it without a scratch on you. Now that's impressive." Clarisse had the decency to blush, and blinked in surprise at the unexpected compliment.

"Let's hope Clarisse'll treat us to a repeat performance when we meet Python." Will spoke up from the helm of the chariot, throwing a glance over his shoulder and grinning. "Else we'll be going back to Camp Half-Blood as barbecued demigod slices."

"I'm looking forward to it." Clarisse said. A growing speck in the distance caught her eye and she stood up for a better look, shielding her eyes from the sun. She stood still for a moment before she spoke up. "That's definitely land. Looks like we're nearly there." She raised her arm and waved it through the air and Nico once more felt a subtle shift in the space around them as Clarisse covered them with the Mist to hide them from prying eyes.

"Thanks sunshine." Will spoke up, winking at Clarisse as he began to ease Blackjack and the chariot into a steady descent. Clarisse snarled back at him.

* * *

The sun had almost set when they finally landed to set up camp. Clarisse had spotted an enclosure of trees and bushes that provided decent cover from prying eyes and Will had put them down shortly after. Almost the moment he was free and watered, Blackjack whinnied before he sat down and promptly fell asleep. They had made periodic stops to allow him small rests, but they had never stayed down for more than an hour of fear of being attacked by local monsters or losing too much time. Now they sat around a fire Will had started. Nico stared into the flickering flames and thought on the day's events and what lay ahead of them whilst Clarisse continued sharpening her spear and Will tightened the string on his bow.

"So, Solace," Clarisse began, slowly dragging the whetstone up the edge of her spear. "That little battle with the Empousa – you don't swing that way, huh?" She laughed. Nico snapped out of his daze, still wondering what the meaning of that phrase was. He studied Will's reaction, noticing the faint blush on the blond's freckled cheeks. "When'd you first figure it out then?"

Will took a moment to further tighten his bowstring, securing it to each end of the bow and examining his handiwork before he answered her. "Years ago, I guess. Michael and Lee helped me figure it out, actually." He paused for a moment, realising what he had just said before he shook his head and resumed inspecting his bow. Nico recognised those names, though it took him several moments to recall the faces and match them to the names. It took him a further moment to realise that both of the boys were dead.

"Helped you out in what way?" Clarisse quizzed, raising an eyebrow. Will dismissed her implication with a flick of his wrist.

"Not like that. They were just there for me and talked me through it all. They helped." Will shrugged. He raised his bow and pulled the string back, testing the strength of it. Nico's attention wavered as the two continued talking, catching a vague snippet of Clarisse complaining about not having anything to stab with her spear. A cold sense of alertness filled him as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled in alarm. His hand moved to the pommel of his sword as he glanced around the clearing, careful not to attract the attention of the other two who were bickering again. He had the distinct feeling he was being watched. A slight movement ahead of him drew his gaze and he spotted a young-looking girl leaning against a tree, half concealed by shadow and foliage. The girl raised her hand and gestured for Nico to follow, before she turned away from him and disappeared into the trees. Nico debated for a moment before he stood up, drawing the attention of the other two.

"I'm going for a walk." He announced, already walking towards where the girl had been. "I won't be long."

"Watch out for Empousai, Di Angelo." Clarisse called after his retreating back, snickering. "Wouldn't want to be rescued by your boyfriend again, would you?"

Nico glanced over his shoulder and smirked sarcastically. "I can think of a good place to stick that spear, La Rue." Clarisse's face fell in shock while Will doubled over in laughter, dropping his bow as he clutched his sides. Nico left in pursuit of the girl before Clarisse could compose herself and reply. He could almost hear Jason scolding him for following a suspicious-looking girl through a secluded forest on his own, but he dismissed the thought, knowing that Jason would probably have done the same in his situation.

Nico pushed foliage aside and stepped through a particularly large clump of bushes and spotted the girl ahead of him, having slowed her pace to allow him to catch up. He wondered who she was, and only began forming an idea when he noticed that the wildlife seemed to part before her, clearing her path and actively avoiding both her and him. The girl stopped when they entered another clearing and turned to face him. Despite having only seen her once before, Nico immediately recognised the raven-black hair and silver eyes of Artemis and bowed his head immediately.

"Forgive me for the deceit and for leading you away from your campsite, but it was necessary, Nico di Angelo." She began, sitting down on a fallen log. Nico spotted a silver bow strapped to her back and a silver quiver at her hip. "You probably do not remember me. I am—"

"—Lady Artemis, I remember you." He raised his head. "How can I be of service?" Artemis dismissed his question with a lazy wave of her hand, her eyes piercing straight through him and giving him the impression she was peering into his very being.

"It is not a question of how you can help me, but rather how I can help you." She said. Nico raised an eyebrow – it was unusual for any god to help mortals willingly. "It may not surprise you to hear that my father has forbidden any and all interference with your quest, and the only reason that I am here is because my brother could not be." Nico crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, studying Artemis from a distance. The goddess seemed to register the confusion Nico felt. "My brother has relayed information to me concerning Python." Nico perked up, focusing completely on her words now. "Specifically concerning the weaknesses Python has."

"And what are these weaknesses?" Nico asked. The fear he had felt concerning this quest diminished – Python had weaknesses. At last, their quest started to look achievable.

"Aside from the obvious ones – the eyes, the throat and the stomach – there is only one other weak spot." Artemis began. "Python's scales are heavily armoured and protect the majority of its body, but one of the scales has been… damaged." Nico raised an eyebrow. "My brother's handiwork the first time he slew the beast. The plate, he tells me, is located on the beast's neck and that if you truly hope to kill the beast then that scale should be your target."

"Shouldn't that scale have healed when Python reformed?" Nico questioned. Artemis smiled.

"Not quite. My brother was a lot more volatile when he was younger and he placed a curse on the arrow he used. This curse prevented the scale from healing and reforming with the rest of Python. Your best hope of success is to strike the beast in this weakened area with one of my brother's arrows."

As if answering Nico's unasked question, Artemis drew an arrow from her quiver and held it up in front of her for Nico to inspect. It was gold in colour and seemed to glow with a dazzling brightness, like a solidified ray of light carved into the shape of an arrow. He walked forward and accepted the arrow from the goddess, noticing how it felt warm in his palm and seemed to hum with energy. At his touch, the light coming from inside the arrow faded and disappeared and the metal grew cold. He looked from the arrow to Artemis.

"I'm guessing they can only be used by a child of Apollo… or you?" He asked. Artemis nodded and Nico sighed, stowing the arrow safely in the back pocket of his pants.

"I must also warn you, Nico di Angelo, that your quest has not gone unnoticed in the world." She drew her cowl over her head, partially obscuring her eyes and stood up, preparing to leave. "You are being tracked." He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "By who, I do not know. My hunters are attempting to intercept them but so far they have failed. I would guess that it is one that harbours a grudge against Olympus and seeks to preserve Python – with the Earth Mother's downfall, the serpent remains one of the only ones strong enough to challenge the gods. Tread carefully, and good luck."

Nico bowed his head as she left the clearing. He let his mind wander, wondering who they could be being tracked by and how they had picked up their trail so quickly. He shook his head after a moment and headed back the way he came.

* * *

Clarisse raised her spear at his approach, only lowering it to the ground again when he stepped out from behind the bushes. He looked from the tip of the spear to her and smirked.

"You weren't planning on stabbing me, now, where you?" He asked, walking over and sitting next to the fire again. Clarisse sighed.

"I wanted to stab something. Couldn't you have been a monster of something?" She asked jokingly, dropping her spear to the ground.

"If what I've just been told is true, we're going to have no shortage of monsters in the near future." Nico began. Will looked up curiously from his bow while Clarisse narrowed her eyes. To answer their unasked question, Nico added: "I've just spoken with Lady Artemis in a clearing back there. She says we're being tracked by a group of monsters, but she doesn't know who and her Hunters haven't been able to stop them yet." Will and Clarisse exchanged a look.

"And what else did she tell you?" Will asked, placing his bow on the ground and crossing his arms, waiting for Nico to continue. The worried look on his face had returned, though he attempted to suppress it, but to no avail. In response, Nico pulled out the arrow Artemis had given him.

"This is one of your father's arrows," He started. Will's eyes darted to the arrow and widened whilst Clarisse looked confused. "He gave it to Lady Artemis to give to us. Apparently it's the only way to kill Python – we've got to hit Python's weak spot with this arrow and it's a guaranteed kill." Clarisse looked even more confused and held out her hand for the arrow.

"Weak spot? I didn't think Python had a weak spot." Nico glanced over to her and handed her the arrow, observing how the arrow did not change for Clarisse either.

"It does." Nico pointed to his neck. "Python's covered in armoured scales that would stop all but the sharpest weapons, but Apollo's arrows—"

"—Caused permanent damage and prevented the scales from healing when Python reformed." Will finished for him. Nico looked over with a raised eyebrow, as did Clarisse. "It's not the first time dad has used these before." He accepted the arrow from Clarisse who held it out to him and flinched when the arrow flashed with a bright light and began humming with energy. "He used them in the Trojan War… not these ones, but diseased ones. Same thing, really. They stop all healing, even if the monster is destroyed… I didn't think they existed back then… dad killed Python just days after his birth."

Clarisse jumped up. "So we've got a way of killing the thing then?" She exclaimed, a bloodthirsty excitement creeping onto her features.

"I guess so." Will admired the arrow for a moment before he reached over his shoulder and placed it in his quiver. The arrow slotted in as if it was made especially for his quiver and the light emanating from it subsided, as did the energetic humming. "Suddenly this quest doesn't seem so impossible, huh?"

"Don't get too excited." Nico cut in, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword as he had become accustomed to doing. He began listing the things Artemis had told him. "We've still got to worry about the usual – Python's fire, venomous teeth, razor-sharp talons and sharpened tail."

"Fun." Will exclaimed sarcastically, burying his face in his hands and groaning. Clarisse, on the other hand, looked even more excited.

"Shut it, Solace, that is fun!" She picked up her spear and began sharpening it with renewed vigour. "Makes the final fight all the more fun." Will raised his head from his hands and exchanged a dark look with Nico.

"I've got an idea – we send her in first. If Python's got any common sense, they'll run the other way." He whispered. Nico grinned. Will copied Clarisse's actions and began drawing out individual arrows from his quiver and sharpening their tips with a smaller whetstone that Clarisse threw over to him. Nico watched curiously. "Sharper weapons have got a better chance of breaking through the scales, right? We can't rely on the arrow dad gave us… if we miss that shot then we're screwed." Will answered.

Nico nodded in understanding. "I'd do the same with my sword, but it'd probably break the stone before it sharpened it." Clarisse looked up and at the sword strapped to Nico's waist.

"Is that Stygian Iron, Di Angelo?" She asked, her eyes focusing on the black blade of his sword. Nico nodded. "Can I see it?" Nico unsheathed his sword in a single movement and gently handed it to the waiting Clarisse. She turned the blade over in her hands, admiring each groove on the blade before she tested its weight in her spear hand. "Not bad for a sword," Clarisse remarked. "I still prefer spears though." She handed the sword back to Nico, who sheathed it once more at his waist.

"Who do you think is tracking us, then?" Will spoke up questioningly while he sharpened his normal arrows. The Arrow of Apollo remained sheathed in his quiver, wrapped securely in a cloth to hide it.

"One of your dad's enemies, maybe?" Nico ventured, watching the flames of the fire. Will made a dismissive gesture.

"Most of dad's enemies died in the war and haven't reformed yet or went into hiding when we defeated Gaea." Will countered. "The only one with any measure of strength is Python and they're not moving any time soon."

"Maybe it's a monster with a personal grudge against one of us?" Clarisse suggested, drawing a particularly large spark from the tip of her spear with her whetstone.

"Well that rules out most monsters considering we're not called Percy Jackson." Will joked and the three of them shared a laugh. Blackjack whinnied in his sleep as if he was sharing their laughter. The three of them settled soon after and decided to try and get some rest for the long day of travelling ahead. Nico alone remained up and sat at the fire, stoking the flames to keep it alive and healthy. He wasn't sure what time it was or how long he had been up and he was only brought out of his musings when Will sat next to him.

"Can't sleep, Di Angelo?" Nico nodded. "Is it because of Tartarus?" He asked. Nico's head whipped around in shock and Will raised his hands defensively. "Annabeth told me before Jackson woke you up in the infirmary. She said I should expect nightmares, I'm guessing she was speaking from experience. That's why I added anaesthesia to your medication, to help you sleep."

Nico's surprised expression faded and he looked back at the fire. "Yeah, it's Tartarus." He answered, before quickly changing the topic. "Why aren't you sleeping, Solace?"

"Anxiety." Will shrugged dismissively. "Kind of hard to sleep when you've got a giant dragon waiting for you at the end of the journey and a bunch of monsters hunting you down already when we're not even a quarter of the way there. I'm starting to wonder if we're meant to come back from this quest – what if it's just a way of punishing my dad? Give him some false hope then—"

"—It's too late to turn back now, and thinking like that's guaranteed to get you killed." Nico interrupted, prodding the flames with the tip of his sword. "Besides," He countered. "We've got a girl who's killed a Drakon single-handedly and a skilled medic with an arrow designed specifically to kill the overgrown lizard. I think we'll do fine."

Will's expression softened for a moment before he slung a hand over Nico's shoulder and drew him in close, much to Nico's surprise. "You're right." Will said, staring into the flames and smiling. "Just try and get some sleep, Nico. Tartarus is gone, and you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Nico didn't fight the contact for once but he instead relaxed into Will. With the warmth of the fire on one side and Will's warm touch on the other, Nico soon began to feel drowsy and fought to keep his eyes open. He was surprised when he opened his eyes again and found himself looking up at the stars, wrapped up in his sleeping bag. He threw a furtive glance around, searching for Will and spotted him lying next to him, asleep, and Clarisse not far away. Feeling somewhat content for the first time in a while, he allowed his head to drop back down and closed his eyes.


	5. An Old Foe

They travelled swiftly across the land, the cities of Brazil passing like blurs beneath their chariot with Clarisse at the reins again. Nico looked up from his position at the back of the chariot and watched as Will sorted through their backpacks and bags, a frown on his face. Nico raised his eyebrow curiously as he watched, concerned at the son of Apollo's expression.

"Something wrong, Solace?" He asked, drawing the attention of the other boy. Will frowned and returned his attention back to the bags after a moment. Nico didn't like the look on the boy's face and prepared for the bad news that was sure to follow.

"We're low on supplies." The boy said as he emptied the contents of the last uncounted backpack and began to sort through them, counting aloud. "Ridiculously low. If we're gonna' make it to Python without starving to death, we're going to need to make a pit stop and buy food." Nico's stomach dropped. Going into the cities was definitely a bad idea, considering how popular they were with monsters.

"Couldn't you just go hunting?" Clarisse asked over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the reins. Will scoffed and rolled his eyes, grabbing each individual can and tin of food and stowing it neatly back into its respective backpack, taking great care not to lose any or drop any over the side of the chariot.

"With my aim?" He countered. "Then we'd definitely go hungry. No, we'll have to make a stop soon." He stood up after tidying the contents back into the backpack and took his place at Clarisse's side, tracking their progress on the map and consulting the compass. He looked up once to survey the land around them, narrowing his eyes to try and focus on certain distinguishing landmarks. He raised his hand and pointed to a growing bulk in the distance just ahead of them. "There. Take us down there, Clarisse. We'll get supplies and keep going after that." Clarisse nodded once and Blackjack whinnied in acknowledgement, already beginning their descent to the city below. They landed without incident or injury and after ensuring Blackjack would be safe in the enclosure Clarisse had chosen, they set off for the nearby town, ensuring their weapons were concealed by the Mist.

* * *

They spent as little time as they could in each shop and only encountered a problem when it came to paying for the items. Nico doubted very much they would accept Drachmas, but before they could do much more, Clarisse had waved her hand in front of the shopkeepers face and said simply, "We've already paid." The shopkeeper nodded dumbly and allowed them to leave with the food. Nico felt a pang of guilt at essentially stealing from an innocent man, but he reasoned their quest was important enough to mandate stealing.

Will mimicked Clarisse's action, a focused expression on his face. "These are not the droids you are looking for." He said in a deep voice, struggling to suppress the smile on his face. Nico missed the reference but Clarisse laughed and knocked Will playfully with her shoulder. The hair on the back of Nico's neck stood on end while Will and Clarisse joked around and he strained to hear whatever may be around them. He threw his arms out, dropping the food around him, and shoved Will and Clarisse to the ground before he himself dove to the side. He turned his head and spotted three vicious spikes embedded in the ground where they had been just moments before. Clarisse quickly jumped to her feet, her spear already in her hands and levelled at the emerging figures. Nico and Will got to their feet too – Will notching an arrow on his bow and Nico unsheathing his sword from its position at his waist.

Several Empousai emerged from the bushes surrounding them and formed a semi-circle behind them, cutting off their escape route. Clarisse shot a look over to Will and grinned when the boy muttered: "Of course, it _had_ to be Empousai." Nico rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on his sword and stepped closer to Clarisse and Will, placing his back to theirs to cover all angles. The two mimicked his movements, their heads only turning when a new figure emerged.

He was tall, that much was obvious, and dressed in a simple suit. His hair was greying, with only small patches of black still visible and his eyes were mismatched and heterochromatic. With a jolt of surprise, Nico recognised the man and lowered his sword momentarily in shock. The man seemed to recognise Nico too, for his eyes lit up in delight and he clapped once in excitement.

"Excellent, the one I was looking for." He began. "I've been looking forward to killing you since you slipped away the first time, son of Hades." A few of the Empousai behind them hissed. Nico raised his sword again threateningly and pointed it at the man who took a single look at his sword and laughed. "There's no insufferable son of Poseidon or inebriated Olympian to save you this time, Nico di Angelo."

"What the hell's he talking about, Di Angelo?" Clarisse muttered, jabbing her spear towards one of the Empousa who had ventured closer to the three. The girl fell back with a hiss, looking ready to rip Clarisse apart. "You know this freak?"

Nico nodded. "Vaguely. He was the one that tried to kidnap me and Bianca and take us to Atlas." Nico pointed to the spikes ahead of them with the tip of his sword. "His handiwork – he's the Manticore of Persia, Dr. Thorn."

Thorn had advanced closer during their hushed conversation and now stood only a short distance away, a sadistic grin on his face. "I've looked forward to killing the son of Poseidon, but I'll settle for you instead, Nico di Angelo. How could I have rejected our master's offer when it involved killing you and getting revenge on the gods at the same time?"

Thorn grinned a final time before his body and its limbs grew outwards, bubbling and twisting and pulling itself into a new shape. Fur and vicious, shark-like teeth replaced skin and humanoid teeth whilst a pair of velvety, bat-like wings grew outwards from the creature's back and a scorpion tail sprouted outwards, curving around with a vicious looking spike at the end of it, pointed directly at Nico.

The Empousai attacked at the same time as Thorn, their actions perfectly timed and synchronised. Two Empousai fell at Will and Clarisse's hands immediately but they were quickly overwhelmed by the vicious, vampire-like women who clawed and kicked at them, driving the three apart and isolating each of them. Nico narrowly ducked a swipe from Thorn's talons and stabbed with his sword towards the Manticore. Thorn deflected Nico's sword with a swipe of his claws and leaped at him, roaring, before the full weight of the Manticore slammed into Nico's weaker abdomen.

Nico was knocked off his feet and, cursing his slow reflexes, jumped to his feet quickly, barely managing to block the beast's follow-up attack. Thorn clawed, bit and leaped randomly, distracting Nico and forcing him on the defence – the Manticore was definitely not like the demigods Nico had sparred with: Thorn wasn't sticking to a pattern and so prevented Nico coming up with a counter strategy.

Nico swore loudly as a searing pain spread along his leg and he looked down to see a spike protruding from his thigh. His stance weakened and Thorn leapt again, knocking the boy over and kicking the discarded Stygian iron sword out of his reach. Nico looked over to Clarisse and Will desperately, unable to move – his legs were numb now, and try as he might they wouldn't move – and saw that they were equally occupied with multiple opponents each. Each had their back to him and he panicked, pulling himself towards his sword. Thorn stopped him by rolling him over onto his back and grinning down at him.

"I expected more from a son of Hades. How disappointing." Thorn raised a clawed paw as he prepared to strike. Will shouted in alarm which distracted Thorn for a moment. Nico saw out of the corner of his eye as Will spun on the heels of his feet like a skilled dancer and watched, as if in slow motion, the blond pull two arrows out of his quiver and notch them on his bow. The blond pulled his bowstring back and released it and the three of them – Thorn, Nico and Will – watched as the two arrows soared at them. The first arrow soared cleanly past Thorn and Nico's heart and stomach dropped. Then the second arrow embedded itself deep in the skin of the Manticore's neck. A look of faint surprise crossed Thorn's features before he exploded in a cloud of monster dust, the arrow falling to the ground and resting atop the small pile.

With a victorious yell and a snarl, Clarisse drove her spear into one of the remaining Empousa and braced herself against the cloud of dust that followed with her shield. The other girls turned and fled and Clarisse started to give chase.

"Clarisse, no!" Will called and Clarisse stopped in her tracks, glancing wildly from Will to the retreating Empousai, a look of wild desperation in her eyes. "We've got to help Nico – I can't move him on my own." Clarisse swore and kicked one of the piles of ash into the wind in anger but she remained where she was, not giving chase to the Empousai. Will placed his bow on his back and ran over to Nico, examining the spike embedded in the boy's leg.

"Can you feel anything, Di Angelo?" Will asked, moving his hands gently across the bloodied wound unflinchingly. Nico shook his head and Will began muttering a prayer to Apollo. Clarisse watched from beside Nico, her spear ready in her hand should the monsters return. Will soon removed the spike from Nico's thigh and the wound knitted itself together under Will's careful touch and his prayer. He helped Nico gingerly to his feet, catching and supporting the younger boy on one side, Clarisse on the other, when his leg buckled under his weight. "It's okay, Nico, we'll get you to camp. Don't put weight on your leg yet, you might reopen the wound, the prayer I did was only basic."

Nico disliked putting them in his situation but reluctantly allowed them – it was either accept their support or crawl back to the camp. With Clarisse and Will supporting him on opposite sides, he limped slowly back to camp, taking great care not to put too much weight on his injured leg. Blackjack and the chariot came into view after a short time walking, neighing and pawing at the ground nervously, tossing his head frantically around the clearing as he kept an eye out for monsters. At their approach, he rushed forward with the chariot attached to his back and swung it around. Will patted him appreciatively and he and Clarisse lowered Nico carefully onto the back of the chariot.

"I'm fine," Nico said. "Really, it's not that bad." When they remained unconvinced, he rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "I've had worse injuries than this, believe me. This is just a flesh wound, I'll be fine."

Will shook his head. "You'd have been fine if I made the first shot, Di Angelo. You could've died if I hadn't used a second arrow." The boy crouched and examined the pink skin of the closed wound carefully, running his fingers across it and muttering under his breath.

"Shut it, Solace." Clarisse scolded him coldly, her arms crossed and a stony expression on her face. "You keep whining about sucking at archery but you're a fine archer. Talent isn't genetic or given by your dad, it's earned, you moron." Will looked up at her in surprise, stunned into silence. Clarisse turned her gaze on Nico. "How did you know that Manticore?" She asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Nico glanced up at her. "It was just before Percy and the others brought me and Bianca to camp. We'd been in this military school and the Manticore posed as a teacher there called Dr. Thorn. He got sent by Kronos to capture me and Bianca because he needed children of the Big Three to complete the prophecy, but Percy, Annabeth and Thalia got in his way." Nico sighed, remembering the night vividly. "I guess he wanted revenge for failing to get us." Clarisse and Will exchanged a dark look and Nico raised an eyebrow.

As Nico talked and Clarisse listened, Will ran his fingers over the pink skin on Nico's thigh. The skin under his touch blotched and changed colours slowly until it resembled the skin around it and the medic stood up, stretching, with a satisfied expression on his face.

"You'll be fine now. I reinforced the healing I did – you should be able to stand on it now." Will threw out his arm and pushed Nico back down on the chariot when he made to stand up. "But not now, obviously."

Clarisse jumped onto the chariot and took the reins. Will settled opposite Nico and Blackjack took them out of the clearing at a blinding pace, keen to get away from the scent of monsters. They spoke only when they had put a considerable distance between themselves and the enclosure.

"So Solace," Clarisse began. "You think they were the monsters Artemis warned us about?" Will shook his head but remembered that Clarisse could not see him from the front of the chariot.

"Not a chance." He answered simply. "The Hunters would've caught the Manticore if it were just a few Empousai with him. No," He twirled an arrow in his hands absentmindedly. "I think we can expect to run into a few others." Clarisse spared a glance over her shoulder at Nico, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Well, if that one had a grudge against Di Angelo here then it seems like we'll be coming across monsters with grudges against us or our godly parents." She said, with a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

"Dad doesn't have that many enemies, really." Will commented. "Unless you count a handful of jilted lovers, the Giants, Titans and a murderous dragon." Clarisse snorted. "What about you, La Rue? Who do you think'll be coming after you?" Now she was laughing.

"I've lost count of how many enemies I've got and how many my dad's got." She adjusted her hold on the reins. "Could be anyone or anything after me. Could even be an army." She added, somewhat sarcastically. The three of them shared a laugh before Will turned to Nico with a serious expression on his face.

"You need to get some rest now, Di Angelo. Let the healing do its job." He said sternly. Nico obediently curled up on the back of the chariot, figuring it was best not to argue with the medic. He let his mind wander, listening and catching vague snippets of conversation between Will and Clarisse before the slight rocking of the chariot as it was buffeted gently by wind currents sent him soundly to sleep.


	6. A Violent Encounter

Beta'd by the lovely Mewsugarpudd.

* * *

The next few days passed without incident with not even a glimpse of a monster, and Nico didn't like it. He had a bad feeling echoed by the other two and even Blackjack, who seemed more alert than usual. He'd voiced his suspicions to the others the previous day.

"Something's wrong," he had said whilst they had been flying over a large patch of land. Will had looked up from his position sat opposite Nico with a raised eyebrow and a curious expression. Clarisse had looked over her shoulder for a brief moment from the reins at the front of the chariot. "We haven't been attacked in days now. It's not right."

"What did you expect, Di Angelo?" Clarisse had said over her shoulder. "Solace killed the Manticore, they'll have scattered now." Nico shook his head.

"I don't think that's true. Think about it," He had reasoned. "Thorn said he had a master in all this, so he's not the only one. They haven't attacked in a while because they're regrouping for a big attack."

"Either that or they're waiting in ambush along our route." Will had said, casting a nervous glance ahead of them as if expecting a group of monsters to appear out of nowhere and attack them.

Nico was snapped out of his daze when the chariot veered sharply to the side, buffeted by a powerful gust of wind. He barely had time to regain his balance before the chariot was flung upwards by another gale of wind, Blackjack whinnying loudly in fear. Clarisse was hurled from her position at the reins, her grip broken and flew past Nico and Will and off the chariot. Their reflexes kicking in, Will and Nico's hands shot out at the same time and gripped Clarisse by her sleeves, both heaving in exertion as they pulled her back on. Will fought his way through the fierce wind to the front of the chariot and gripped the reins, fighting to keep control.

Nico dared a glance over the side of the chariot and saw nothing but dark, stormy water thrashing around violently in waves that he had no doubt would drag them to the bottom of the ocean if given the chance. Will yanked the reins to the left and Blackjack obeyed, pulling them out of the way of a large wave that had rose out of nowhere, trying to knock them out of the sky.

"We've got to land!" Clarisse yelled, just audible over the howling wind. Rain battered their faces and obscured their vision and they barely managed to avoid another killer wave. Nico shielded his eyes and spotted a dark patch ahead of them.

"There!" He yelled back. Will followed the direction of Nico's hand and nodded, whipping the reins and spurring Blackjack on. The closer they got to land, the lighter the wind became and the calmer the waters grew. Will spurred Blackjack into their descent and Nico heaved a sigh of relief – they'd escaped the freak storm intact, they had to be thankful for that.

A wave of water slammed into the side of the chariot and the three and Blackjack yelled in alarm. They capsized in mid-air and the three were flung out, instinctively bracing themselves as their demigod reflexes took over. They heard a loud crash and a piercing shriek of pain that was undoubtedly from Blackjack and in unison they looked towards the source. The chariot lay in pieces that were scattered across the wooden clearing they had crashed in and Blackjack lay on his side, struggling frantically to escape from under a tree that had snapped and fell on him. Nico climbed to his feet, as did the other two, and they ran towards Blackjack to try and free him. Before they could reach him, another wave of water whipped around them before it solidified into ice, forcing them to stop in their tracks.

They spun around and Clarisse barely managed to raise her shield before a wave of water slammed into her, knocking her clean through the air away from Nico and Will. Nico and Will exchanged a look before they ran forward, stopping when a monstrous, serpentine head bore down on them, snarling and snapping viciously at them, smoke rising in a steady column from its mouth. Another head swung around towards them, dripping a foul-smelling green substance from its mouth that hissed and smoked when it touched the floor. Nico cursed and pulled Will out of the way.

"It's a Hydra!" He yelled, pulling Will out of the way again as one of the heads spat acid at them. Will rolled his eyes.

"You think?!" He yelled back sarcastically, levelling his bow at one of the heads and drawing an arrow. "What's a Hydra doing here? They can't control water like that!" Nico shrugged and ducked a torrent of fire from one of the heads.

"Percy killed a Hydra. Guess it wants revenge on us." He suggested, slicing at a head that ventured far too close for his liking. He took care not to behead it – he knew how problematic that would be. He glanced over his shoulder to where Clarisse lay, limply getting to her feet by using her spear as a support. She was battered and no doubt bruised, cuts lined her body and she stood with a limp in her left leg. She took a firm hold of her spear and levelled the point towards the river that ran alongside the wooden clearing. Nico followed the point of the spear to the patch of water and watched with a sense of alarm as a figure rose out of the watery depths. Clarisse seemed to recognise him for she cursed loudly and crouched into her battle stance. Nico didn't recognise him, and neither did Will, though he guessed the man was one of Poseidon's children as not a single droplet of water clung to him despite having just emerged from a body of water. The man was holding an elegant-looking blade that curved along the edge, forcing Nico to wonder whether the blade was made of water. He eyed a sheathed dagger at the main's waist.

"Guess it's my turn, boys!" Clarisse yelled. Will span around and released his bowstring, launching an arrow at the man as he stepped onto land. The man didn't even blink as he caught the arrow with his hand, snapping it in two in his grip and dropping the fragments into the water behind him. Nico blanched and felt a pang of fear – if this guy was as strong as Percy was, then they were in trouble. Will's eyes grew wide as he drew another arrow, aiming it at the man's head.

"Who is this guy, Clarisse?" Will shouted, jumping backwards to avoid one of the Hydra heads.

"Halirrhothius," She yelled in response, jabbing her spear in the air threateningly. "Son of Poseidon." She smirked at the man then and Nico couldn't help but think her mad. "Wasn't Ares murdering you enough? You want more?" She taunted. Halirrhothius levelled her with a bored expression.

"You share the same levels of idiocy as your father." He said, his voice gentle and then violent, quiet then loud, reminding Nico of the ocean and its volatility. The man raised his sword then and lunged at Clarisse almost too quickly for Nico to follow with his eyes. He was forced to look away when one of the heads of the Hydra dove at the, spewing fire while another spewed acid and a third head snapped at them.

Nico dove and dodged and weaved and slashed and sliced but the Hydra seemed to predict his moves before he had time to execute them and countered them perfectly. Too many times he had slashed his sword at an exposed head only to have it turn to him at the last minute and release a jet of fire or a torrent of acid that he had barely managed to dodge. His clothes were ruined and his skin was lined with various burns – inflicted by both acid and fire – and the ground around them lay in ruin: smoking holes dotted the landscape while small fires grew into larger ones, spreading across empty patches of grass.

Will was doing no better: his quiver was half-empty now and he had resorted to running forward to retrieve his arrows, only to nock them on his bow and launch them seconds later to force a Hydra head away from him. The two were growing more and more desperate and relying more and more extensively on their demigod reflexes, their tactics and actions being foiled by the Hydra perfectly, move for move. A particularly slow response left a deep gash on Will's cheek that spewed blood angrily and he only just managed to dance out of the reach of an open-mouthed head that tried to snap at him with its vicious teeth. He turned as Nico swore loudly and watched as a separated serpent head rolled away from the main body and cursed as well.

"Don't behead them!" He half-yelled, half-reprimanded. Nico swore at him in what he guessed was Italian.

"I know, I know! It got in the way." Nico yelled back angrily, ducking as the two new heads swooped at him at the same time. Nico looked up as a particularly loud clash of metal on metal drew his attention and watched as Clarisse raised her shield to parry another vicious slash from the Half-Blood bearing down on her. He once again tried to rush forward to her aid but was knocked off his feet when a Hydra head crashed violently into his side. He hit the ground and rolled, the wind knocked out of him and Will dove forward, bombarding the heads with a volley of arrows to keep them away. Nico inhaled, his lungs and chest burning, before he forced himself to his feet and dove back into action, fighting to ignore the pain from his many wounds.

One of the larger heads snarled and picked up the tree trunk trapping Blackjack and spun around violently, launching the trunk at them. Nico dove into Will, knocking him out of the way just barely in time to stop them both being crushed. They rolled when they landed and the Hydra roared in anger, charging at them. They rushed to their feet just in time to avoid one of the hydra's legs trampling them. Nico hacked and slashed at the exposed flesh and the beast roared in pain, releasing a jet of fire and wave of acid at him. He dove out of the way but some of the fire grazed his back and he yelled, feeling some of the skin being burnt away by the searing flame and cursed as he landed. Will rushed forward and gripped his arm, pulling him out of the way of another jet of flame before he yanked him to his feet, sweating and panting fiercely. Nico spun around and stood back to back with Will as the Hydra surrounded them with its heads menacingly.

"What do we do, Solace?" He asked desperately, feeling the sweat from the heat and his exertion trickling down his forehead, coupled with the blood from his injuries. He blinked away red as a trickle of blood fell into his eye and obscured his vision. Every part of his body ached with pain and he could barely keep his grip on his sword and barely draw enough breath into his lungs. "We need fire to destroy this thing, and we don't have any!"

Will froze and glanced over to where small fires had been burning on the grass, only to flinch when he saw nothing but smoking burnt patches. He cursed loudly – the Hydra had trampled the fires, extinguishing them as if expecting the two to try and use the fires to destroy it. He thought bitterly to himself, as he avoided another attack from a Hydra head, that monsters certainly did learn from their mistakes, even if it did take them a few times.

A loud crash drew their attention and they looked over in time to see Clarisse hit the ground, her shield knocked out of her hand and cast to the side. She rolled onto her front and crawled desperately towards her fallen spear and Nico and Will sprinted forward, their weapons ready, to defend her. The Hydra got their first and blocked their route, roaring, snapping, snarling and blasting a jet of fire and acid at them. They jumped backwards, only narrowly avoiding the attack and they both swore – Will in Greek and Nico in Italian. Will watched helplessly as Halirrhothius beat Clarisse to her spear and kicked it far out of her reach before he kicked her onto her back and crouched, pressing the bare blade of his sword against her neck, the cold steel biting into the skin and drawing a faint trickle of blood.

"Are you ready to die, daughter of Ares?" He asked with a wide grin on his face. Clarisse spat at him and he flinched, wiping her spit from his face and pressing the blade harder into her neck. "I'll take that as a yes. Any last words?"

"Yes: you forgot one thing." Clarisse began, smirking up at him. Halirrhothius raised an eyebrow before he smirked victoriously.

"And what would that be?" He asked mockingly, pressing the sword harder down into Clarisse's neck, drawing more blood.

"Never let an Ares kid near your weapons." Clarisse snarled and with a yell she wrenched the dagger free from its sheath on Halirrhothius's waist and buried it deep in the side of his unprotected temple. Halirrhothius's eyes grew wide and he convulsed, blood pouring from the wound before he collapsed limply on top of Clarisse, his grip failing and releasing the sword. With another yell, Clarisse heaved his body off of her with her knees and pushed him to the side, retrieving the dagger from Halirrhothius's corpse and climbing weakly to her feet. She retrieved her spear and limped towards them but froze, her eyes growing wide in alarm and fear. Nico shouted a warning and Will spun around but was too slow. One of the heads slammed into his side, knocking the wind from him and breaking his grip on his bow, knocking it clean out of his hands. He spun violently, trying desperately to brace himself as he arced high in the air but to no avail. With a yell of pain before the wind was driven from his lungs, he slammed into a tree and bounced off of it, landing in a heap on the ground, trying but failing to draw breath into his lungs.

Darkness quickly began obscuring his vision and the pain he felt grew number and number. He saw a faint grey blur approaching from the distance and a pang of fear filled his numb body – another monster joining the fray – then his vision failed. He faintly heard the desperate tones of Clarisse and Nico as they screamed his name through the fading heart beat pounding in his ears before they, too, faded and darkness claimed him.


	7. A Creeping Shadow

Beta'd by the lovely Mewsugarpudd. I apologise for the delay, so to compensate I wrote a bit more than I usually would.

* * *

The first thing he felt was the dull, throbbing pain absolutely everywhere, but strongest at his head. That was the first indication he was alive. The second was the bright light that burned when he opened his eyes, shutting them quickly and cursing at the pain. It gave Will some comfort to know that he was still alive and could feel, but he was pretty damn sure not even death was that painful; he felt like at any moment his head was going to be cleaved in half by the pain. He cautiously opened his eyes and attempted to sit up slowly, groaning and stopping when the pain spiked. His sight was blurred and slow to correct itself and when the blurry shapes finally became recognisable, he saw he was wrapped cosily in a white blanket in the inside of what he thought was a house until he noticed the walls were moving.

He sat up slowly again, ignoring the pain and protests from his back and joints, rubbing his eyes weakly before nursing his temples to ward off the agonising pain in his head. He weakly looked around the room which spun mockingly at his attempt and lowered his head, fighting back nausea.

"Push yourself any further and you'll rip something. Stay down, doctor's orders."

Will looked up then and focused on the source of the voice. He couldn't help the wide, albeit painful, smile that spread across his face then, replacing the grimace of pain that had been there moments before. Standing at the entrance of the tent, leaning on a support pole, looking slightly worse for the wear with bruises and cuts across his face and sporting a relieved smile, was Nico. Will was even more surprised when the smaller boy strode over to him and enveloped him in a crushing hug. Nico pulled away awkwardly after a few seconds and sat on the chair next to him.

"And when did you become a doctor, Di Angelo?" Will asked, grinning.

"I became a doctor when I half dragged, half carried my half dead friend to safety from an overgrown lizard with too many heads." Nico replied, a victorious and even bragging smile on his face. Will gasped as a particularly large surge of pain hit him and he reached up, clutching his head. The smile fell from Nico's face and the boy darted forward out of his chair in shock. "Are you okay?"

Will batted him away with one hand, managing a weak smile. "Fine, fine." He said, unconvincingly. "Who saved us, anyway? From what I can remember, we were being overwhelmed by the hydra." A dark expression crossed Nico's features and the boy didn't answer. Will took the hint and hastily moved on. "Where's Clarisse? Is she okay?"

The dark expression on Nico's face softened and Will heaved a mental sigh of relief. "She's fine," Nico replied. "A bit shaken after her fight, but fine." Will nodded and examined himself in the brief silence that followed. The first thing he noticed was that most of his lower chest was bandaged. He experimentally touched an area of bandaged skin and winced in pain, no doubt from the bruising. He was relieved to find that when he performed a cursory examination he found no broken bones. Nico watched as Will ran a hand up his side, muttering a prayer to his father as he had done so many times before. When he finished, Will looked up at Nico.

"Whoever healed me did a great job of it, no broken bones or any fractures. Where are we, anyway, Di Angelo?" He asked, failing to notice the blush on the boy's face at being caught staring. Nico quickly composed himself and answered.

"We moved while you were unconscious. You got carried," Nico added when Will raised an eyebrow as if to imply Nico was incapable of carrying him. "We're about two days travel from Athens and not that far from Delphi. Once you've recovered, we'll be flying with Blackjack."

Will looked curiously at Nico. "And how will we manage that? I remember our chariot being smashed to pieces against a tree. Mason's going to kill me… he'd only just had it fixed, too."

"Well, that's—"

"—Where we come in." Will noticed two things. One was the dark expression that returned to Nico's face when the girl stepped inside the tent. The second was that the girl had a hardy expression and a commanding aura. She seemed almost familiar to him, but he reasoned that that was because he had grown up surrounded by people like her. It took him a few moments before he realised who the girl was.

"Thalia Grace?" He ventured, raising an eyebrow. The girl nodded and crossed her arms while Nico seemed to take great lengths to look anywhere but at her. "Well, I guess I've got you and the Hunters of Artemis to thank for saving us."

"Thank us when you kill Python. We arrived ju—"

"—They got there just after you lost consciousness," Nico interrupted in an almost accusatory tone, throwing a dark glance in Thalia's direction that the girl ignored. "They managed to kill the hydra before it could finish the job." Nico's tone was bitter and he seemed to Will almost reluctant to admit that the Hunters had saved their lives. Thalia exchanged a tense look with Nico.

"We were ordered to track down the monsters that were following you and destroy them." Thalia answered calmly. "We would have arrived far sooner if we hadn't been delayed by stormy waters."

"If you had arrived any later then he," Nico gestured brazenly and accusatorily to Will, who shifted uncomfortably. "Would be dead." Thalia narrowed her eyes.

"Then you should be thankful we arrived when we did, Nico di Angelo." She said in a cold tone, then she turned from Nico to look at Will, who shifted uneasily under her gaze. "We're giving you our chariot to use, seeing as yours was destroyed." She continued as if Nico hadn't interrupted her earlier. "That should get you to Athens but as you know, Blackjack can't go any further than that without putting himself at risk." Will nodded. With a final glare shared between the two, Thalia pulled back the entrance flap to the tent and strode out.

Nico sat back in his chair and heaved a sigh of anger, running his hands through his hair before resting his head in his palms. Will waited a few minutes before he spoke up.

"So are you going to tell me what that was all about or am I going to go grey with age waiting?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. Nico looked up and stared at him for a while before he answered.

"I've never really liked the Hunters," Nico admitted, shrugging dismissively and lowering his eyes to the floor as if fearing Will's judgement or reprimand. "Not since Bianca joined them and died just a few weeks later." Nico's voice faltered and Will could almost feel the loneliness radiating from the smaller boy. Will blinked in surprise – this was quite a change: from cold, hostile and confident in his behaviour to sad, introverted and unsure. He leaned forward and enveloped Nico in a hug, hiding a painful wince when his sides protested in pain, surprising the smaller boy. He couldn't fully blame Nico for hating the Hunters of Artemis – if Artemis hadn't fallen into that trap and needed rescuing, then Bianca would never have died. He was content to sit there for a few minutes in silence, listening to Nico breathing while he comforted him with the hug.

"I understand," He soothed into Nico's ear. "But they did save our lives, and it's not Thalia's fault your sister died, you know." He combed a hand through Nico's hair and felt as the boy sagged against him.

"You're right." Nico admitted after a while. "I'll apologise to Thalia later…"

Will smiled and patted him on the back. "That's the spirit." They sat in silence for a few minutes more until they both seemed to realise the situation they were in and awkwardly separated, looking in opposite directions with a red dusting on their cheeks. The silence was broken when Nico glanced over at Will's chest, looking at the bandages, and spoke up.

"It's time to change your bandages, I think." He said, moving over to a small box and pulling it towards him. Will shifted on the bed and shrugged the blanket off of him, laying down. Nico came over with a small wet cloth in one hand and scissors and fresh bandages in his other hand. He carefully cut the top bandage on Will's chest, frowning in concentration, and peeled the rest away. Will winced when he looked down and so did Nico. His skin was raw and bruised and split in places. They both grimaced – Nico in revulsion and Will in pain – when Nico dabbed at the dried blood on Will's stomach with the wet cloth, wiping it away. His actions were careful and slow, and Will couldn't help but feel some gratitude for the slowness. Nico exchanged the damp cloth for a dry one and began drying Will's chest.

"Did you watch us in the Apollo infirmary or something, Di Angelo?" Will asked. "You seem to know something about wound hygiene." Nico spared a glance upwards and grinned.

"I learned from the best." He answered. His hands lingered around a patch of healed skin and Will raised a playful eyebrow.

"If you wanted to check me out, Di Angelo, you should've just asked instead of changing my bandages." He winked and laughed when Nico looked horrified and blushed a startling shade of crimson, a major contrast to his usual pale pallor. He bustled around quickly, securely wrapping the fresh bandage swiftly, but gently, around Will's bruised abdomen and securing it with medical tape. He stood up to leave then and cast a final glance in Will's direction.

"It's my turn to keep watch now, get some sleep or I'll have you sedated, Solace." The two of them shared a grin. As Nico turned to leave, Will shot out and grabbed his arm, pulling him down and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, Dr. Di Angelo." He grinned playfully. "I think I've been a bad influence on you."

Nico froze with a hand on his cheek, his eyes wide. He turned to leave again but stopped on the entrance, looking back with a smile on his face.

"More of an influence on me than you know." He said, and with that he left, leaving Will to lay back down and try to get some sleep.

* * *

Nico spent the next few hours next to a campfire, prodding the flames as he had so become accustomed to doing when pondering his thoughts. The flames flickered feebly in response to his prodding, sparking up occasionally. His thoughts varied and drifted from the quest to Hazel and to Reyna and he wondered how they were getting on, remembering his promise to send an Iris message to them at the first opportunity. He wondered about Will, then, and his thoughts grew hazy with confusion.

What were they, exactly? Friends? Judging by the comment Will made earlier and the apparent flirting he had been directing at Nico, they were clearly more than acquaintances. Was Will joking with him in some peculiar attempt at humour, or were his comments genuine and meaningful? Nico ran a hand through his hair and rested his head in his hands, leaving his discarded stick to burn in the flames of the fire while he thought, the cracking and splitting of the wood serving as a surprisingly soothing noise to him.

He didn't know how he felt with the whole thing, if he was being brutally honest with himself. Only a few months ago – weeks, really – he'd been exposed by a delinquent God of love and had been terrified of being who he was. Jason had changed some of that, he reasoned. Jason had taught him that it didn't matter what he was – the world he lived in now was different to the one he was born into, and no matter how out of place he felt, he'd have friends who would accept him for who he is. He was sure Will was one of those people like Reyna and Jason.

Clarisse sat down next to him abruptly which dragged him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the side and nodded in acknowledgement to her before he returned his gaze to the fire.

"If you're thinking about whether Solace means what he says and does, he does." Clarisse said abruptly, kicking the burning stick in the fire with the tip of her boot, scattering ash and sparks in the air. Nico blinked in surprise and then disbelief, gazing at Clarisse as if she had sprouted a second head. How she had guessed, he didn't know. He settled for it being her natural intuition – it had been pretty on point for the majority of the journey. He took a moment to compose himself before he spoke in reply.

"How you can be so blasé about these things amazes me." He said, rubbing his temples to ward off a headache, a habit he had picked up from Will.

"Here I was thinking it'd be my telepathy that'd impress you, but sure, settle for my lack of subtlety." Clarisse replied and Nico smirked.

"How'd you guess?" He asked, then when Clarisse raised an eyebrow, he added, "About me, that is, not Solace."

Clarisse shrugged. "It was kind of obvious," A wicked grin spread across her face. "What with you sneaking glances at him every few seconds when you thought nobody was looking." She cackled when his eyes widened and he blushed in embarrassment. He didn't think it had been that obvious – he hadn't even realised he had been doing it until he quite literally caught himself staring. "Relax, Di Angelo. It's not that obvious. I just have a good eye for these things."

"And you're fine with it all?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. A look of faint surprise and even annoyance crossed Clarisse's face.

"Just because you were born in some backwater century doesn't mean things haven't changed, Di Angelo." She kicked a twig into the fire and watched it burn with a smile. "People are a lot more tolerant now. Nobody cares if you're gay, bi or whatever you are."

Nico blinked in surprise. "I wasn't aware there was more… things… you could be."

"There's more than you could possibly know, trust me." Clarisse stood up then and patted her clothes down. "I'm going to get some sleep. You should try to get some, too, Nico." She left him in peace then, to ponder their newfound friendship. Of all the people he had expected to become friends with during his life, Clarisse hadn't been very high on the list – they both seemed to be polar opposites at first glance, but he soon realised he'd gotten what he deserved for judging a book by its cover, or in this case a child of Ares by their tendency towards violence. Nico wasn't sitting alone for long, as Thalia dropped into the space Clarisse had vacated, as if she had been waiting for Clarisse to go. Her presence was different to Clarisse's – Clarisse had a surprisingly calming influence when she wasn't in a frenzy. Thalia, on the other hand, had a charged presence, causing the hairs on Nico's arms and the back of his neck to stick up as if expecting a lightning strike. It served as a warning, he reasoned, that the wrong words or the wrong actions could easily trigger Thalia's anger.

"Let's talk, Di Angelo." Thalia said before falling silent and offering nothing more. Nico sat, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't and the air began to grow awkward, he spoke up.

"About what, Grace?" He ventured in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"How about we start with the obvious problem – your sister." Nico tensed and seemingly so did the air around him, as if warning him to remain quiet until Thalia had finished speaking. "Look, we both know that her death was an accident and she died the way we all want to – like a hero." Thalia glanced up at the sky, mapping out the stars. "She died too young but she died happy, Di Angelo. The last thing she did before she died was make a giant robot dance. I bet Jackson didn't tell you that, did he?" She looked over at him then, her expression softening. After all, he was still quite young and he had lost his only living relative – with the exception of his half-sister Hazel – at an even younger age. Nico shook his head.

"No. I guess it slipped his mind." He replied, his eyes returning to the fire and watching the flames flicker mildly in the evening air.

"I may sound harsh when I say it, Di Angelo, but in the end it was her choice to become a Hunter." Thalia returned to looking at the stars. "We all know the risk when we pledge ourselves to the hunt and we do it anyway. Bianca knew that and so did I when I took the oath too. She died living the life she wanted to live – you can't begrudge her that, or blame her comrades for her death." "Anyway," She patted him on the shoulder awkwardly before she stood and began walking away, calling over her shoulder, "La Rue is right, you should get some sleep. You look half dead. I'll get Marianne to cover your watch."

Nico rolled his eyes before calling out his thanks to Thalia's retreating form before he turned back to the fire and sighed. That night had certainly given him a lot to think about – Will's apparent attraction to him and whether or not he reciprocated it, Clarisse's friendship and a discussion about his dead sister with the last person he expected to talk to about her. He massaged his temples again, desperately trying to fight off an oncoming headache before he took Clarisse and Thalia's advice and headed to his own tent, pitched next to Will's in case the Apollo medic needed assistance, and turned in for the night. He was almost surprised that he fell asleep nearly instantly when his head touched the pillow. Almost.

* * *

Will rolled onto his side and cracked open a weary eye, shielding himself from the sunlight filtering into the tent only to jump in slight surprise to find Nico sitting directly opposite him, wide awake and sifting through a leather-bound book in his hands. Ignoring the smug grin on Nico's face, Will cautiously sat up and stretched precariously, happy to find he wasn't met with pain from his bruises – his father must have followed through on his late night prayer. He made a mental note to make an offering to him when – if – they returned to camp. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nico admiring his handiwork and smirked. Nico rewarded Will's smirk by throwing a clean shirt and clean pair of pants at him.

"Go get a shower or something, Solace." Nico wrinkled his nose. "You reek."

Will grinned and slowly eased his way out of his bed. Though Nico looked deep in thought with his book, he could tell the son of Hades was ready to spring from his seat at a moment's notice to catch him – he could tell by the slight crease in the boy's brow. He admired that about Nico, really, how the boy was always ready to defend his friends. He took a few moments removing the bandages covering his chest and admired his father's handiwork, pleased to find no bruises remained. Nico looked similarly pleased.

"You love me really, Di Angelo." Will winked but headed to the front of the tent regardless. He threw a glance and a mischievous smirk back at Nico. "Care to join me?"

Nico rolled his eyes and turned a page in his book. "Dream on, sunshine." Will grinned but didn't press the subject further and left the tent without another word. After being pointed in the right direction by a Hunter, he quickly located the secluded and quite well-hidden stream and stripped down, lowering himself cautiously in to the water, careful not to knock any of his recently-healed bruises and cuts. He leaned his head against a low-hanging rock and heaved a sigh of relief before he inhaled deeply and dove under the water, running his hands through his blond locks to rid them of flecks of dirt, dust, dried blood and even bits of soot and ash. He resurfaced a short while later and cleaned himself quickly before he simply sat back and looked up at the sky, gazing at the moving clouds.

His mind wandered to camp and he wondered how they were doing and whether they knew just how close the three of them had come to death already, and they weren't even there yet. He thought of Jake Mason, who would no doubt kill him if he survived for breaking the chariot they had only just repaired. He thought of his siblings who had been reluctant to take his place in the quest – not that he held it against them, he would have done the same – and wondered if they believed he would return or not. He prayed it was the former. Then he was brought out of his wondering by the thought of Annabeth, and he looked around wildly. Hastily, he reached across from the stream to his discard pants and reached around inside a side pocket, practically ripping a golden drachma out of the seams. He looked around equally wildly until he spotted what he was looking for – a slight drop in the stream with cascading water – and swam towards it, tossing the drachma through the small rainbow that had formed there.

"O Iris, Goddesss of the Rainbow, accept my offering." He watched as the drachma disappeared the moment it passed through the iridescent rays of the rainbow. "Show me Annabeth Chase." Annabeth's face flickered into view through the rays of the rainbow and Will adjusted himself to get comfortable, leaning against a rock in the water. She had her back to him and was clearly busy, bent forward over a giant table in what Will guessed was the Athena cabin. He took a moment to take in the various maps and scrolls strewn across the top of the table before he got her attention. "Chase, I'm reporting in as asked." Annabeth jumped and turned around with a startled look in her eyes but inhaled and quickly regained her composure.

"Solace." She glanced at a clock behind her. "You're a day behind schedule. What kept you?" Then she seemed to take in his appearance and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest. "Are you even wearing any clothes?"

"Yeah, uh, about that," He scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "I'm kinda taking a bath right now – don't worry, you can't see anything – and we're behind schedule because we got attacked." Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline and, Will was convinced, off her head completely. A new look of surprise and alarm crossed her face.

"Attacked? By who?" She asked.

"A jumped-up demigod with a grudge against Ares, an overgrown lizard with too many heads and bad breath, a load of vampire ladies and a lovely guy called Dr. Thorn." He answered, watching with some sense of dark amusement at the expressions that crossed her face.

"The Manticore?" She asked, disbelievingly. When he nodded, she added, "Well, I guess it was about time he reformed… he went for Nico, didn't he?" Will nodded. Annabeth didn't look surprised. "Where are you now?"

"We're about a day's travel from Athens, we're heading off soon I think. After that, we should be at the ruins in two days at the mo—" His head snapped to the side as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and stood up. He glanced around the area, so still he may as well have been paralysed and deathly silent. After a moment of nothing but the sounds of the rushing stream, he turned back to Annabeth who had a concerned expression on her face but remained silent. "Sorry… thought I heard something."

"Be careful, Solace. You may have more monsters on your trail." She checked the clock on the wall again. "You better be going. Contact me when you get to the ruins." With that, she swiped her hand through the image of his face and ended the call. Will sighed and ran a hand through his dripping wet hair before he swam back over to where his clothes lay abandoned and climbed out, drying himself quickly with the towel he had brought with him before slipping into the clean clothes Nico had thrown at him.

He got back to the campsite and was greeted by the sight of Nico and Clarisse standing in front of a jet-black chariot securely harnessed to Blackjack. He brushed a wet lock that fell into his eye to the side and walked towards the two. He noticed the chariot was already packed and all their bags were accounted for, looking slightly bigger and heavier than before. Thalia emerged from one of the tents carrying another bag and joined him in his walk to the chariot, filling him in on the way.

"The Gods aren't strictly allowed to help during this quest, but that restriction doesn't apply to us so long as Lady Artemis isn't here." Will smirked – that explained why the goddess was absent. "We've refilled your supplies and we're even giving you our chariot to complete your journey to Athens." They stopped in front of the chariot and she handed the rucksack in her hand to him "Do me a favour, Solace? Don't destroy _this_ chariot."

Will smiled, his white teeth shining in the sunlight, and jumped onto the back of the chariot, dropping the extra bag next to the others. Clarisse clambered on behind him but Nico paused and turned to Thalia.

"Look," He began, extending a hand out to Thalia. "I've been a jerk to you and I'm sorry." Will was surprised by the sudden apology and so too was Clarisse and the hunters. Thalia's expression, however, remained unchanged until she grabbed Nico's hand with her own and shook it, a small grin on her face.

"We'll never exactly be the best of friends, but it's good you don't hold a grudge Di Angelo." She said and then she walked back to her Hunters and took her place among them, clearing Will and the others for take-off. "Good luck. You're gonna' need it."

The three of them looked back once and raised their hands in farewell before Will took the reins in his hand and with a quick whip of the reins they were airborne again. The campsite quickly shrank to nothing while the grey speck in the distance that was Athens grew steadily larger. Will glanced behind him once and took in Nico and Clarisse's confident expressions before he turned back to the front of the chariot with a new sense of confidence setting in.


	8. In The Shadow of a Colossus

Thanks to mewsugarpudd for beta'ing this chapter.

* * *

It didn't take them long to reach the city of Athens from the Hunters camp. The sprawling capital of modern Greece itself was positively alive and buzzing with energy even from a distance, and Blackjack neighed nervously as they flew closer. The three of them could guess why – the closer they got to Athens, the closer they got to the monstrous dragon that no doubt lay in wait for them at the ruins of Delphi, not to mention the hordes of monsters that lay between them and the end of their journey.

They landed smoothly and without incident. Will and Clarisse quickly unharnessed Blackjack who proceeded to curl up on the ground a small distance away whilst Nico surveyed the area. Judging by the lack of tourists, Nico gathered the mist had hidden their landing pretty well. He took a moment to allow his eyes to wander over the city and looked over towards the decaying ruin of the Parthenon. He tore his eyes away and turned his back on the ruin when Will began speaking.

"Well, I guess this is where we leave you, Blackjack." Will wore a sad smile while Clarisse stood next to him with her arms crossed. "It's not safe for you to go any further. Thanks for taking us this far, buddy. I'm sorry you got hurt and got caught up in our fights on the way." Blackjack whinnied and flicked his tail, and Will got the impression that Blackjack understood him. The blond turned away from the resting Pegasus and looked first at Clarisse and then to Nico, a puzzled expression on his face. "Now then… how are we going to get to the ruins of Delphi? We can't walk it, it's way too far…"

Clarisse herself looked puzzled and vented her frustration by kicking a stone at a tree. Nico rolled his eyes and drew his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Both Clarisse and Will jumped at the noise and then jumped again when the ground in front of them cracked and split open only to then be stunned into silence when a car rose up from the gaping maw which closed neatly under the tyres. Will and Clarisse looked to him for explanation but Nico simply ignored them, opened one of the passenger doors and clambered in. Will followed and recoiled in horror when he caught sight of the driver. Clarisse, who jumped in the front, didn't so much as blink in surprise. Once Will had composed himself, he turned to face Nico.

"Any reason you've got a zombie chauffer, Di Angelo?" He asked weakly. Nico merely grinned.

"Perks of having a dad who rules the underworld, sunshine." Nico replied, sparing a glance at Will's face before he turned to face the driver, Jules Albert. "You know where we're going. Avoid the motorways if you can, they're probably going to be full of monsters waiting for us." The zombie chauffeur nodded once before he put the car into gear and they drove off, the Parthenon shrinking behind them until it was little more than a small speck in the distance.

* * *

They drove for hours and the sun had already long begun its descent in the sky before one of them finally spoke up – they had spoken only briefly at the start of the journey to discuss the battle strategy for when they finally got to Python (not much was to be said on that front – the best they could hope for was to dive for cover and strike when they got the chance and pray to whatever god would favour them that they wouldn't be incinerated) and since then the car had fallen quiet, with only the quiet music coming from the radio (courtesy of Clarisse) breaking the silence.

"How about a game to pass the time?" Will ventured into the quiet car. Clarisse groaned and rolled her eyes while Nico looked at Will with a raised eyebrow. "Alright," Will turned and looked out of one of the car windows, squinting out into the fading light. "I spy with my little ey—"

The car shook violently as a boulder slammed violently into the ground just in front of it. The three of them jumped in shock whilst Jules Albert slammed his foot down on the brake and spun the steering wheel quicker than the three demigods could follow, expertly bringing the car to a skidding stop inches from the boulder. Nico took a moment to thank Hades for having the sense to gift him a driver with a history of racing before they jumped out of the car, narrowly avoiding another boulder.

"I spy with my little eye… another boulder!" Will yelled as he jumped to the side and rolled, a boulder crashing into the ground where he had been moments before. The three of them gathered their composure and looked to the source of the boulders, spotting the hulking behemoth of a monster silhouetted against the sun at the same time. Will drew his bow, nocked an arrow and took aim before he released the drawstring. He watched as the arrow soared through the air and found its mark, embedding itself deeply in the skin of the monster. The three of them stood in stunned silence as the monster was not reduced to a pile of dust but merely pulled the arrow out as if it were a wooden splinter and cast it aside before advancing slowly towards them.

Nico didn't recognise the huge monstrosity and neither did Clarisse. Will, however, swore loudly and nocked another arrow on his bow, aiming it at the oncoming behemoth.

"Tityos," Will said in answer to Clarisse and Nico's silent question. "The would-be rapist of Leto that my dad and Artemis slew." Nico and Clarisse swore at the same time and exchanged a grim glance between the two of them – demigods and monsters they could handle, a Giant was something else entirely: they needed an Olympian for that.

"And here I was thinking the journey here was far too quiet." Nico thought aloud sarcastically and Clarisse, despite their seemingly helpless situation, grinned. Tityos roared at them before he broke into a charge, the very ground shaking beneath his heavy footfalls. The three of them steeled themselves in preparation, their weapons raised and ready though their faces were devoid of all colour.

"How do we kill him?" Clarisse asked, sparing a glance at the other two. Nico swallowed, hard, and gave her the answer they were dreading.

"We can't without an Olympian." Nico raised his stygian iron sword a bit higher while he wiped his brow free of sweat with his free hand. "The best we can do is trap him."

"And how do you propose we do that, Di Angelo?" Clarisse replied, her recently-sharpened spear ready in her hands. Nico shrugged.

"Still thinking on that one, Clarisse. Give me a few minutes." Clarisse rolled her eyes while Will nocked two more arrows onto his bow, taking aim at the incoming Giant. Their reflexes kicked in and the three of them dove in completely different directions at the exact same time just as Tityos reached them and swung a heavy club – a thick tree trunk more than five times the width of Clarisse's torso and seven times as tall – down on the space they had occupied seconds before. Each of the Giant's attacks were brutal, and more than once their reflexes saved them from what would have been a potentially deadly sweep of Tityos's club. Nico cursed when one of the attacks brushed dangerously close to Will, who barely managed to dance out of the way of the wooden trunk in time. Clarisse backed away from a swipe, her eyes analytically sweeping over the giant's body like a predator, hunting for weaknesses. She spotted a jagged-looking scar across the Giant's chest and vaguely remembered one of Chiron's lectures about this very Giant – something about having his livers picked out by vultures each night in Tartarus.

She clenched her teeth and reluctantly drew Halirrhothius's dagger from its sheath at her waist and dove forward, weaving her way through the giant's defences with a dancer-like grace that came from years of honing her body for fights exactly like this. She ducked under the Giant's tree trunk and rolled forward, stopping just short of the Giant's chest where she lunged with the dagger, sinking it deeply into the skin of the freshly-healed scar. The Giant roared in agony as the wound smoked and hissed from contact with the celestial bronze blade. With a heave of exertion, Clarisse pulled the dagger down and through the muscle tissue of the Giant's chest, ripping the scar open afresh before she dove back, her damage done.

Will, seeing this new opening in the Giant's chest, nocked an arrow on his bow and squinted against the sunlight, taking aim at the scar. He inhaled deeply and released the arrow, exhaling, and watched as the arrow soared through the air and once again found its mark – sinking deeply into the reopened wound on the Giant's chest.

Tityos stumbled backwards, howling in agony and rage, and brought his hands to his chest, trying to grasp the small dagger and the arrow to try and rip them out. Nico, spotting his opening, stepped forward and levelled his sword at the Giant, drawing on the powers inherited from his father. He felt his face drain of colour and the temperature around him and Tityos plummet and felt a tugging in his navel before a wave of power swept over him and the ground cracked beneath the Giant's feet. With a final yell, Nico released his power and the ground tore itself open beneath Tityos, who saved himself only by grabbing onto the ledge, his eyes looking desperately into the gaping maw of nothingness beneath him.

Nico advanced steadily towards the Giant desperately trying to pull himself up to safety, looking down at the beast without a hint of mercy in his eyes.

"This is for my friends." He said, looking straight into the Giant's eyes as he plunged his sword into Tityos's hand. The giant howled in agony once more and released his grip on the rocky ledge, plummeting with a final roar of rage into the depths below before he disappeared completely. Nico stepped back as the abyss closed and turned to face the other two, surprised to find them staring at him. Will's eyes shone with what Nico took to be admiration, noticing the boy's eyes sweeping up and down his body whilst Clarisse looked on with a look of deep respect.

"Are you sure you're not an Ares kid?" She asked, her arms folded and a grin on her face. "You'd make a damn fine brother." Nico grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, damn fine…" Will muttered, glancing at Nico. Nico heard him and blushed, but held his head high and led the way back to the car where Jules Albert waited, unscathed, for their return. Clarisse stopped for a moment and felt at her waist before letting out a few choice swear words in English and Ancient Greek. When Will and Nico turned with raised eyebrows to ask her what was wrong, she snarled.

"I lost it, damn it! My war trophy, Halirrhothius's dagger!" She stamped her foot in not-so-silent rage while Nico grinned and Will rolled his eyes.

"I'll buy you a new dagger for Christmas, how about that La Rue?" He asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder and Nico's and steering them towards the car. "Now come on, we've got a dragon to kill."


	9. The Final Battle

Thanks to my friend mewsugarpudd for beta'ing this chapter.

* * *

It was with heavy hearts and shaky legs that they finally stepped out of the car. With Jules Albert's expert driving and navigational skills they had reached Delphi in record time from Athens, even after being delayed by Tityos. They had stopped a distance from the main ruin and had quickly said their farewells to the zombie chauffeur before scaling one of the hills overlooking the archaeological ruins. From there, Will looked down with a pale face at the main ruin: a pillar at the centre that had no doubt once been part of an impressive, decorated temple, reduced now to a crumbling, weatherworn ruin. Following his gaze, Nico's heart skipped a beat when he spotted their target. Wrapped around this temple ruin, seemingly asleep, was Python – a monstrously large serpent with a ridged, spikey, emerald hide, horned tail and vicious talons on each foot. Will pulled back from the edge of the hill and turned to face them, brushing a stray lock of blond hair out of his wide eyes.

"Well," he began shakily. "On the bright side, we don't have to worry about any mortals seeing us." Clarisse attempted a laugh but it died in her throat. Will spared a glance back at Python and the world seemed to spin and he swayed where he stood. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, snapping himself out of it.

"I imagine a fire-breathing, carnivorous lizard does that to tourism." Nico replied, a hollow smile on his face, quickly turning to alarm when Will started swaying again. He reached out and placed his hand on the blond's shoulder, steadying him.

"It's strange… I feel weaker here than I did before." Will muttered, rubbing his eyes again.

"Probably because Python's cutting off the source of Apollo's power." Clarisse suggested. "Wasn't that one of the first things your dad did, killing Python? It was one of his first proper acts as a God." Will nodded.

"So what's the plan, Solace?" Nico interjected, his arms folded and his brows furrowed in concentration. A sheepish expression flitted across Will's face and the boy shrugged. A small amount of colour filled the boy's cheeks.

"I don't have one." Will said, smiling awkwardly. "I just expected we'd go in all guns blazing and hope for the best." Nico's stomach dropped while Clarisse looked on in surprise.

"That's a brilliant plan," Nico spat viciously. "For dying instantly." Will shrugged once more in response.

"Planning wastes time and brings no guarantee of success." He countered, looking to Clarisse for support. Clarisse seemed to nod, then turned her gaze to Nico.

"He's right – to some extent." She added when she noticed the triumphant light in Will's eyes. "I didn't plan when I charged that Drakon during the Battle for Manhattan. I just ran at it." Nico narrowed his eyes.

"This is dangerous thinking, La Rue. I'm sure Python is a bit craftier and a bit more cunning than a Drakon." He countered.

"All the evidence points to the contrary – what overgrown lizard attacks a pregnant Titaness and expects to survive?" Nico looked on the verge of giving up, though still somewhat unconvinced. One part of him agreed with the apparently senseless logic the two were suggesting while another part – his common sense, he bet – screamed for him to force the two into agreeing with him and planning for this battle. Seeing no guarantee of getting his way, he decided to compromise.

"Alright, we'll do it your way." Will and Clarisse shared a grin, but before they could celebrate their verbal victory, Nico cut them off. "But we're at least doing it somewhat intelligently. If I'm going to die today, I don't want to die a complete idiot." Now the two shared a suspicious glance. "We'll ambush it – one of us goes in first and gets Python's attention and the other two jump it from behind."

"Guess that'll be me going in then." Will said. When Clarisse looked ready to object and volunteer herself, he spoke again. "Why not me? A son of Apollo will get its attention more than a son of Hades or Ares will, more history with my blood and all that."

"Can't argue with that." Clarisse spoke up, leaning against her spear. "So you'll go in, hopefully not get roasted alive and me and Di Angelo will attack from behind and try and create an opening long enough for you to shoot the bastard with your special arrow." Will nodded.

"Sounds like a plan – happy Neeks?" He shot at Nico who shook his head in disbelief.

"You're crazy, both of you…" Nico raised his head and looked at the two then, a small flicker of hope in his eyes. "But it just might work. Alright, I'm in. It's too late to back out now anyway."

"Hey, if we survive this then drinks are on me when we get back." Will said in an attempt to cheer them up. Clarisse grinned and Nico smiled weakly. The three of them turned then and looked down at Python before they split – Will headed down while Clarisse and Nico wove around in a circle to come out behind Python.

* * *

Will stepped out into the open, climbing the few steps that separated him from the behemoth of a lizard coiled around the temple remains. With each step he seemed to grow heavier and fainter, finding it harder and harder to lift his foot and place it on the step above. Each step became a trial of strength and willpower, and he knew if his pride as a Half-Blood and his father's status as an Olympian weren't at stake, he would be fighting the urge to run away. After what seemed like an age, he finally reached the top and took in the sight of the dragon that lay before him.

Python was sleeping, if the deep rumbling from its chest and the closed eyelids were any indication. Will glanced around, taking in the places he could use for cover and anything that could be advantageous to the three of them before he picked up a small pebble, took aim and lobbed it at the sleeping dragon. The pebble found its mark and struck Python right on one of its closed eyes. The dragon inhaled and the eyelid opened, revealing a slit pupil surrounded by a harsh green iride. It rose from its position on the ground and surveyed Will lazily, its eye half-closed. The dragon's nostrils flared and Will felt the temperature around him rise. When Python's eye grew wide, Will got the impression the dragon had figured out he was a son of Apollo. A low hiss escaped the dragon's mouth and its forked tongue darted out to taste the air, much like a snake.

" _Didn't your father tell you not to wake a sleeping dragon, child of Apollo?"_ Will brought a hand to his temple as the slithery, velvety, mocking voice spoke in his mind. _"You have travelled far to die."_ Python rose fully from the ground then, standing on its legs and unfurling its monstrous wings, blocking out the sun from Will's position. Will's stomach dropped and his heart seemed to skip a beat in fear, but he held his ground, shaking slightly.

"Sorry, Python, but you're dying here." Will spoke up, his voice equally shaky but determined. "I kill you and redeem my dad. It's completely personal." The same voice entered his mind now, laughing deliriously.

" _Perhaps I'll eat you to send your father a message."_ Python snorted, a ring of smoke escaping from its nostrils, and bared its overlarge fangs at Will. _"How do you hope on killing me alone, son of Apollo?"_ Will grinned.

"It'd be suicide if I came alone – now!" He yelled. Clarisse appeared from behind a rock and lunged with masterful grace and precision at Python's hind quarter with her sharpened spear from one side while Nico, who had dove from behind a pillar, slashed with his stygian iron sword at Python's exposed flank. The dragon let out a mighty roar and span, an impressive feat given its startling size, and lowered its wings to cover its body, protecting itself from Nico and Clarisse's attacks. The sheer force and speed of the dragon's movements caught the two by surprise, and they were quickly whipped off their feet with a flick of Python's spiked tail.

The dragon advanced on Clarisse, raising a clawed foot to stamp on her prone form. Clarisse rolled, keeping a tight grip on her spear, and quickly jumped to her feet, diving into Nico and knocking him out of the way when Python spewed a jet of fire at the two of them. Will drew his bow and nocked an arrow, taking aim at the dragon before releasing the bowstring. The arrow struck the dragon's flank but bounced harmlessly off of the armoured scales, denting the arrow tip. It was only then that Will recalled Artemis and Annabeth's warnings about the reinforced scales. His reflexes kicked in and brought him from his thoughts when he dove and rolled out of the way of a clawed swipe from Python, barely avoiding the jet of flame that followed soon after. He took cover behind a pillar, panting and sweating. He brushed stray, wet locks of hair from his face and spared a glance from behind his cover.

Nico and Clarisse were weaving their way around Python, dodging most of his attacks. Clarisse was caught on the shoulder by one of the dragon's claws and it left a shallow gash that bled furiously, while Nico was knocked off his feet with a swipe of the dragon's tail and slammed into a pillar. He recovered before Will could intervene and dove behind the pillar for cover, the jet of fire Python had released parting harmlessly around the pillar that Nico was now hid behind. A sense of desperation overcame Will then, and he figured now was as good a time as ever, considering death seemed likely.

"Hey, Nico!" He called over the roars of Python and Clarisse's war cries, getting the younger boy's attention. Nico's head whipped around in alarm, his eyes wide and his pupils dilated from the adrenaline pumping through the boy's veins. "I think I love you!" The boy visibly paled with shock and surprise, though a small smile quickly spread across the other boy's face.

"I think I love you, too!" He called back before diving out of cover and slashing at Python's neck. Clarisse rolled her eyes and stabbed with her spear at Python before dancing backwards out of its reach when it swiped with its claws in her direction.

"Of all the times to confess, you choose now?!" She yelled back at the two, diving out of Python's path and the jet of flame it had sent her way. Clarisse reacted too slowly and the fire licked at her armoured back, singing the metal and burning the skin underneath lightly, but not as badly as if she had been caught in the full torrent of flame. She winced but continued striking at Python and retreating, angering the dragon by continuously avoiding its attacks with a mad grin on her face. Will joined her now, alleviating the pressure on her by drawing Python's attention to him by firing three arrows at the dragon's head. He dodged and weaved his way through swipes and jets of flame, receiving mild burns and gashes all across his body, shredding parts of his clothes.

"You have the romantic soul of a slug, La Rue!" Will shot back at Clarisse, diving behind cover again to avoid another spray of fire from the dragon, gasping for breath and wincing from the pain of the burns and gashes across his body. Opposite him, Nico glanced from behind his own cover and scanned the beast's body for a weakness, his eyes flitting wildly from limb to limb. His eyes settled on the beast's neck and he spotted a dented, damaged scale just before the joint, no doubt where an artery lay.

"Clarisse, I've fou—" Nico stopped short when he noticed Clarisse wasn't next to him and spared another look out of cover, looking for her. When he didn't immediately see her he began to worry, but was quickly relieved when she sprinted out from behind a pillar, shouting profanities at the overlarge dragon. Python took the bait and swiped at her, striking the pillar she had ran from behind which keeled over and came crashing down on top of the dragon, stunning it. Clarisse took this opportunity to clear the distance between her and Nico and joined him behind cover.

Nico now pointed to the dazed beast's neck, indicating the injured scale. Will and Clarisse found the spot at the same time and looked at Nico in understanding, nodding in acknowledgement.

The three leapt from cover and dove in different directions, racing around Python at different angles. The beast's head swivelled from demigod to demigod, clearly confused and wondering which to attack. Nico felt heat sear the skin on the back of his neck and yelled in agony, slipping and falling to the ground when he felt his back burning, skidding to a halt near a pillar. He got to his feet just barely in time to see Will be knocked into the air with a whip of Python's tail. Clarisse alone was crouched in front of the dragon, panting with exertion, having been knocked down by a swipe of the dragon's claws. She had a gash on her face that was bleeding profusely, but the mad grin on her face never left her face, even when the dragon opened its mouth and released a torrent of flame right at her, engulfing her immobile form in the searing blaze.

"No!" Will shouted, scrambling to his feet and firing an arrow at Python's eye. The dragon turned its head and the arrow bounced off the armoured scales on its snout, the plume of fire stopping as Python moved. Nico looked in desperation to where Clarisse had been and then looked in surprise as she rose to her feet, singed but relatively unharmed and very much alive, cloaked in a red aura that seemed to radiate from her. Once he had recovered from his surprise, Nico prayed to Ares and thanked him.

Python arced its neck to attack Will and released a torrent of flame at the blond, who yelled in fear and dropped to the floor, letting the fire cascade over his head harmlessly. Clarisse yelled triumphantly as she spotted an opening and, with a great yell and a tremendous amount of effort, heaved her spear through the air at Python like a javelin. The spear soared through the air, spinning and gaining momentum before it sank into the beast's neck, embedding itself in one of the undamaged scales.

Python roared in agony and reared on its hind legs, its great wings unfurling once more as it prepared to take flight. Nico inhaled deeply and quickly thrust his sword deeply into the ground, once more calling on the powers of his father. The ground responded quickly to his request, tearing itself apart violently and repairing itself in an endless, earthquake-like cycle beneath the dragon's feet, unbalancing the beast and preventing it from flying. Will reached behind him and drew the golden arrow from his quiver. The arrow hummed with violent energy when he aligned it on his bow and seemed to radiate pure sunlight from its very core. Will took careful aim at the beast's damaged scale.

"This is for my father." Will said, and released the drawstring. The arrow soared through the air, reflecting rays of sunlight as it span in a dazzlingly brilliant display of iridescent light and ripped its way through the damaged scale of Python's neck, embedding itself deeply in the vulnerable skin and the artery that lay beneath. Python's eyes grew wide and it let out a roar that died quickly in its throat. The arrow embedded in the beast's chest began to hum louder with energy and glow even more brightly, and light erupted from the cracks separating Python's scales before light itself engulfed the dragon in a tremendous explosion that whipped the three off of their feet and into the air. The three slammed to the ground, winded by the fall. They looked over when the blinding light as bright as the sun had finally faded and saw only a charred crater where Python had stood.

The three stood up warily, advancing to the centre of the ruins as a trio. They collapsed weakly against one of the intact pillars and sat there, looking in disbelief over the ruins of Delphi. Will laughed, quietly at first but it quickly grew louder, and Nico and Clarisse joined in. They marvelled at their survival and laughed at their victory. They stopped only when they had to draw breath, and Nico turned to face Will.

"So, Solace, did you mean what you said?" Nico asked, his smile still on his face though his voice was somewhat hesitant, as if expecting a bad reply. "Or was it just a we're-going-to-die thing?" Will looked over at him then and grinned sheepishly, pulling the smaller boy towards him and pressing his lips against Nico's own. They separated after a moment, a grin still plastered on Will's face.

"Does that answer your question, Di Angelo?" Will winked and Nico blushed. Clarisse rolled her eyes and busied herself making gagging noises. Will let his head fall back and rest against the stone pillar behind him. "We did it. We killed Python." He said disbelievingly.

A bright flash of light obscured the world from their sight for a moment and the three jumped to their feet, weapons in their hands with the exception of Clarisse who balled her fists, ready to defend themselves. They relaxed when they spotted a young teen that could only possibly be Will's double, only slightly older looking and more toned, walking towards them with a wide smile on his face and teeth shining as bright as the sun itself. The teen lunged forward and grabbed Will, embracing him in a hug.

"Thank you…" Apollo said. "I've watched your progress and I couldn't be prouder, my son." Will was surprised by the sudden contact from his father at first, but after a moment he returned the hug. After a long moment the two broke apart and Nico and Clarisse averted their eyes until Apollo turned to them and embraced the two of them too, surprising them both. Apollo turned his head to look at Nico when he had released the two and smiled. "I knew you'd achieve great things when I first met you, and I can now say with all certainty that I was right." Apollo then turned to look at Clarisse and the smile didn't leave his face. "And you, Clarisse la Rue – drakonslayer and now dragonslayer. You've made Ares a very proud father."

"He's been downright insufferable." Another voice chimed in. Nico turned his head and looked past Apollo, surprised to see his own father walking towards them with a proud gleam in his eyes, with the god of war, Ares himself, not far behind. "It's been hard to get him to shut up since you took down my brother's renegade child, Halirrhothius." Ares glared at Hades before he turned and looked appreciatively at his daughter, Clarisse, mirroring her pose with his arms crossed.

"I guess I was wrong when I said you'd amount to little, girl." Ares said simply. Clarisse's face flushed red with pride and she bowed to her father who nodded his head in response. Nico copied her movements and bowed to his own father. Hades smiled and placed his hand on Nico's shoulder, beaming down on his son with pride. They stood like that for a moment and basked in the pride of their fathers before Nico finally spoke up.

"What happens now?" He asked, looking from Ares to Hades to Apollo, a questioning look in his eyes. They had slain the dragon Python and had finished their quest, but they had never planned for what would happen should they survive the deadly encounter. It was Apollo who answered.

"My father has pardoned me – that was the purpose of this quest, you see. The outcome of your quest would determine whether or not I was to blame for the Second Giant War." Apollo explained. "Zeus decreed that if the Fates destined your quest to fail, then that would be an indication of my guilt. It's only what you humans would call a suspended sentence, but it'll do – my father isn't known for his mercy, after all."

"It's time for you to go back to Camp Half-Blood now, Nico." Hades said, the look of pride still on his face. "It's time for you go to back to your friends and celebrate and get some very well deserved rest." Nico nodded.

"I'll summon Jules-Albert to get us back to Blackjack then." Nico concluded, but before he could begin drawing on his power reserves, Hades cut in.

"That won't be necessary." Hades interjected. "The Pegasus has been returned to Camp Half-Blood courtesy of my brother."

"And the chariot by my sister." Apollo finished for him, a grin on his face. Will shared the smile for a moment before it faded.

"How will we get back to camp then?" Will asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"I'm sure something can be arranged." Apollo answered, winking mischievously with a pair of keys twirling around his index finger, glinting in the sunlight.

* * *

They arrived back at Camp mere minutes later. Apollo left them at the camp border with an extremely cheery wave and a bright smile, and as a group the three headed on. They entered the camp battered, bruised, burnt, clothes torn, hair singed and smelling like firewood but very much alive. A loud cheer rang up when the three climbed to the top of a hill and the camp caught sight of them.

The camp fell on them in waves, easily closing the distance between them and the three atop the hill. Nico was pulled off his feet and hoisted onto Jason's shoulders whilst the Apollo cabin seized Will and carried them above their heads to the centre of camp. Nico glanced over and saw that the Ares cabin was doing the same with Clarisse, loudly yelling "Dragonslayer!" with each step. The three were deposited before the campfire where Dionysus stood waiting, an expression of vague surprise on his face, with Chiron standing just behind him.

"Well, you're back. You killed Python. Today, you secured the peace of Olympus and redeemed an Olympian." He said, taking a moment to look at each of the three in turn. "I guess congratulations are in order."

"And celebrations, too." Chiron chimed in, much to the approval of the crowd of demigods who roared with joy in response. The camp broke into motion immediately – each demigod surged forward to congratulate the three before bustling off to help with the feast preparations. Nico rolled his eyes when Percy, Annabeth and Jason had congratulated them for the third time in a row and interlaced his fingers with Will's. He shared a look and a smile with Will before he looked over at the bustling camp, thinking that if there was one thing the Greeks were good at, it was partying. For the first time, he could genuinely say he felt no worry or anxiety about the future – after all, now he had Will to help him through it, and Will had him.


End file.
